Roy Jones Jr. says he wants someone to speak to His Excellency Turki Alalshikh to have him give Terence Crawford $25-50 million so that he’ll fight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis because he won’t do it for the $5-6 million that he’d otherwise receive.
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) has arguably become spoiled after getting a massive payday for his last fight against a depleted Errol Spence Jr, and Roy feels that it’s going to take big money to get Bud to take a far more riskier match against Boots.
Saudi Gold Paves the Way
Turki Alalshikh has the money to get Crawford to risk his hide against Ennis, provided he’s offered an enormous treasure chamber full of gold bullion. That way, if Crawford loses, he can cry all the way to the bank, and drown his tears in all the riches that he’d get for that fight.
“I’m a guy in the middle. I love Crawford, and I love Ennis, but because I’m a boxer, I see both sides,” said Roy Jones Jr. to Fighthype when asked if he wants to see Terence Crawford fight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
“The real solution to that is the Saudis are spending a lot of money, but if you want to do something good for boxing, give Crawford twenty-five or fifty million and let him fight Boots. Now, it’s worth Crawford’s time and effort to fight Boots.”
Crawford isn’t going to get $25-50 million fighting Tim Tszyu, and he’s not in the running for a fight against Canelo Alvarez. So even if all he gets is $5-6 million for a fight with Boots, it’s still good money, and if he wins, it could open the door for a Canelo payday.
“If you just fight for five or six million, that’s not worth it to Crawford,” said Jones Jr. “‘I’m putting everything on the line for five or six million dollars?’ If somebody is smart, go over to Turki [Alalshikh] or whatever his name is and tell Turki, ‘Give Crawford twenty-five million to fight Boots Ennis, and we’ve got a hell of a fight on our hands.'”
If Crawford needs that kind of money to get that fight with Boots, what does that tell you? That would indicate to this writer that Crawford doesn’t like his chances against the 26-year-old lion. Boots isn’t a big enough name for Crawford to get $50 million smackers.
One could understand Crawford getting gillions or dollars if he were facing Canelo Alvarez, but a still unproven and not widely known Boots Ennis? Nah, that’s a big enough fight for Terence to get that kind of dough.
“I think Crawford would be like, ‘Twenth-five million? Who I won’t fight for twenty-five million?'” said Jones Jr. “That’s how I felt in my prime. But for me, I would fight for two million because I was different. I don’t think Crawford was like I was because I was different.”
More Than Money
“If you have the right money on the table, I know Crawford would probably say, ‘For that kind of money, why would I need it on the table? Let’s go, Boots.’ So, that’s how I think that fight should be looked upon,” said Roy.
Would Crawford agree to twenty-five to fifty million for a fight with Boots Ennis, or would he get greedy and ask for some unworldly sum and anger the Saudis, who would then wash their hands of him, leaving him right where he started from?
You’d like to think Crawford wouldn’t just keep asking for more and more, but given that it took a year to negotiate the Spence fight, it’s possible that he’d negotiate himself out of a fight, and Saudis would give up.
“If you want Crawford to make it, make it worth Crawford’s while to make it,” said Jones Jr. “Crawford wanted to be the man for a long time, but they didn’t let Crawford get a shot at it until he was 35 years old. Boots is a worthy opponent for anybody. So if you want to see that, you should pay him [Crawford] for it.
“No, Crawford doesn’t have the obligation [to fight Boots Ennis]. Crawford chased Errol for five years, and they’re in the same era. ‘So, if I had to chase him for five years. What makes you think you don’t have to chase me for five years?’ So, he’s not obligated to do nothing,” said Jones Jr.
Crawford doesn’t have an obligation to fight Boots, but if he’s going to make less money fighting Tszyu, that doesn’t make sense, either, unless the objective is to avoid getting beaten at all costs. If there’s worry on Crawford’s part, taking the smaller fight against Tszyu for less money is the way to go.
It would look bad for Crawford if he avoids fighting Boots Ennis because that’s the fight that the boxing world wants to see, and the perception is already out there that he feels that’s hard work, much harder than the depleted, weight-drained, ring-rusty, car crash wrecked Spence.
