Eddie Hearn said Jaron “Boots” Ennis would abandon plans to unify the 147-pound division if his next bout with Terence Crawford is contested by His Excellency Turki Alarcik.
Khan and Aralsik Facetime
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn spoke with Alarczyk via FaceTime shortly after “Boots” Ennis’ organized five-round victory over alternate challenger David Avanesyan (30-5-1, 18 KOs) last Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Hearn said his government would be interested in hosting Crawford vs. Boots Ennis next if Terence's bout with Canelo Alvarez doesn't happen in the first quarter of 2025. Hearn said the fight is unlikely to happen for two reasons:
- Crawford will lose to Israel Madrimov on August 3rd.
- Superstar Canelo Alvarez has no interest in fighting Crawford because it's a fight Alvarez can't win and he doesn't get any recognition for beating an older boxer.
Financial incentives for Crawford
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) has the money to fight Boots Ennis, but he's likely to lose. A loss to Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) would tarnish Crawford's legend and reinforce the belief among fans that he was always overrated because of his wins over B-level fighters in the three weight classes in which he won world titles.
In other words, Crawford is Adrien Broner 2.0, a fighter who has won world titles in multiple weight classes but has never faced a strong opponent.
“His Excellency saw the fight and said he wanted to have a quick chat with Boots and that if the Canelo fight wasn't going to happen, he'd like to do Boots vs Crawford. I said, 'Would you do it?' And the answer was, 'Of course!'” promoter Eddie Hearn told iFL TV, referring to his FaceTime conversation with His Excellency Turki Ararcik following Jaron “Boots” Ennis' first-round stoppage win over David Avanesyan last Saturday night.
For Boots Ennis, fighting Crawford next would be the obvious choice, since it would be a much bigger fight for Crawford than fighting any unknown welterweight champion. Crawford is getting older and only fighting once a year, so if the fight doesn't happen in 2025, Boots might not get a chance to fight Crawford until 2026.
Crawford wants Canelo's pay, and if that fight were to happen, it would be in early 2025. After that fight, Terence would likely be out of action for a year or more before facing a bout with Boots in 2026, or a rematch with Canelo if His Excellency approves.
“The plan is to unify at 147, but the fight is [Crawford-Ennis] “This fight is one of the biggest in boxing and it's a very good fight. A guy like Jaron Ennis has been out for a year and he was very disappointed with his performance. I'm not kidding, he was up against Ennis and to face a guy like Avanesyan shows what he can do,” Hearn said of the boot.
