By Ken Hissner: Fight promoter Cameron Dunkin has co-managed with Brian ‘Bo’ McIntyre WBA, WBO, WBC, and IBF World Welterweight world champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford from 2011 to 2019. He has worked with current IBF interim champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis with D & D Promotions from the beginning.
Crawford 40-0 with 31 knockouts out of Omaha, Nebraska, is 35 years old and a former WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF Super Lightweight world champion.
Ennis is 31-0-1nc with 28 knockouts out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is 26 years old. He was a 2016 Olympic Alternate.
Crawford recently defeated and added to his WBO world title, stopping WBA, WBC, and IBF world champion Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence, then 28-0 ahead 79-70 on all three cards before stopping Spence at 2:32 of the ninth round at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 29th.
Ennis won his two fights in 2023, first winning all 12 rounds over Ukraine’s Karen Chukhadzhian, 21-1, at the Capitol One Arena, in D.C. on January 7th.
Then Ennis won the IBF interim title knocking out Roiman Villa, 26-1 in 1:27 of the tenth round. He was ahead 88-83 and 89-82 twice prior to the knockout at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on July 8th. He has been fighting on Showtime on a regular basis in recent years.
KEN HISSNER: Cameron, you managed Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford starting in 2011 with Top Rank Boxing as the promoter. How was he to work with?
CAMERON DUNKIN: He was a really smart guy and worked the prices up. He is a very hard-core negotiator.
KEN HISSNER: You started with Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis from the beginning as a promoter. His father, Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis, is a teacher-trainer and manager of his son and asked you to promote him due to some of the Philly boxers you had worked with quite well. How was ‘Boots’ to work with?
CAMERON DUNKIN: He was always in the gym, even right after a fight.
Several opponents being considered would be WBA World champion Eimantas Stanionis, 14-0 with 9 knockouts from Lithuania, who was to fight Vergil Ortiz, Jr., 19-0 with 19 knockouts but couldn’t make weight.
Another is former WBA champion Cuba’s Yordenis ’54 Milagros’ Ugas, 27-5 with 12 knockouts out of Miami, Florida. Also, a possible match with former WBA and WBC champion Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman, 30-1 with 22 knockouts of Clearwater, Florida, who hasn’t fought since February of 2022.
‘Bozy’ Ennis stated: “We were never offered a fight with Crawford for ‘Boots’ but have challenged him to a fight. He has stated on YouTube that he won’t fight ‘Boots.’ He either fights ‘Boots’ who is the interim IBF Welterweight champion, or he vacates the IBF Welterweight title giving the title to ‘Boots.’
KEN HISSNER: What is your opinion if Crawford and Ennis were to meet?
CAMERON DUNCAN: I believe ‘Boots’ is too big for Crawford, and I would expect him to win.