Terence Crawford’s decision not to fight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis has made It clear to fans that he doesn’t intend to pass the torch to the young talent, which can be construed as a selfish move on his part.
Passing the Torch: A Boxing Tradition
In the past, the older legends always fought the next generation of fighters coming up to pass the torch to them so that they could take their scalps and become the new stars. They were willing to risk their reputation by fighting the younger fighter. These are some of the examples of older stars fighting the next generation to pass the torch:
- Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
- Shane Mosley vs. Canelo Alvarez
- Muhammad Ali vs. Larry Holmes
- Kostya Tszyu vs. Ricky Hatton
Crawford is choosing not to fight Boots (31-0, 28 KOs), and there’s no other way of looking at it other than it being a selfish move.
It also hurts Crawford’s career because he’s not fighting and is just stalling his career, hoping for a fight against Canelo Alvarez to drop from the sky. That’s not happening.
There’s talk of Crawford fighting the winner of the Tim Tszyu vs. Sebastian Fundora, but that will not be as big a fight as a match against Boots. Fundora isn’t popular, and neither is the Australian Tszyu.
Self-Preservation or Fear?
You can understand why Crawford would want to preserve his undefeated record, protecting it like a mother hen guarding her clutch of eggs. But if Crawford wants to be seen as a true champion and not a fake, he must rise to the challenge and face the young sharks like Boots Ennis.
Chawford’s avoidance of Boots looks like a self-preservation move, and that’s disappointing, especially since he’s ranked high on the pound-for-pound list. It takes away from Crawford’s reputation, which he’s worked hard to build. Crawford’s legacy will be forever tainted if he fails to fight Boots.