Former champion Mickey Bey believes a fight between Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Terence Crawford could be a year away.
Bey feels that IBF welterweight champion Boots Ennis’ recent signing with Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn will help make the fight with the former three-division world champion Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) a possibility.
Crawford is focused on money at this late stage of his career and doesn’t see any reason for him to take a risky fight against the unbeaten phenom Boots (31-0, 28 KOs) unless he can make a lot of money, even though he doesn’t have any options now that will provide him a big payday.
Hearn’s Role and the Move to 154
“I think him being with Matchroom and being busy, I think in a year it might make sense, even for Crawford because Boots could end up fighting two or three times at least,” said Mickey Bey to the MillCity Boxing YouTube channel about a fight between Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Terence Crawford.
Boots wants to try and unify the 147-lb division by rounding up the other three belts to become the undisputed champion. With Hearn’s help, he might be able to achieve that goal in a year.
It won’t make sense for Boots to devote more than a year trying to do that because the casual fans will hardly take notice, even if he does do that. Also, the fighters that Boots Ennis will be facing to become undisputed champion arent big names.
He’d be better off focusing on trying to set up fights with Crawford, Conor Benn, and Devin Haney if the latter has the courage to fight him. I don’t think Haney wants any part of fighting Boots Ennis ever.
He and his dad, Bill, are very calculated in who they fight, and they’ve obviously appraised Boots and viewed him out of their league talent-wise, not weight-wise, because Devin is just as big as him.
“I think it would happen at the very end of Crawford’s career. I think Eddie [Hearn] can make it happen,” said Bey.” Maybe he can get Crawford at that weight [154] or maybe not,” said Bey about Boots Ennis potentially fighting Crawford at 154.
I think it’s fair to say that Crawford, 36, is still in a holding pattern, waiting to see if Canelo Alvarez will turn his attention to him. Once Crawford realizes that ain’t happening, he’ll be more receptive to a fight with Boots Ennis.
“He’s on his way out. I’m sure Terence is going to get his last couple of years or last year. They might meet up in a year,” said Bey.
A Generational Shift
“Generational-wise, you can clearly see that Boots is the one that is going to reign and take over in those two weight classes [147 and 154] for the next decade,” said Bey. “The writing is already on the wall. You can already see that. You can see him fight anybody and he’s going to put on a show.”
Boots has already taken over the welterweight division because Crawford is moving up to 154, and he will give up those belts soon. I don’t know why Crawford still holds onto his remaining titles, but he will never defend them.
He can’t get the kind of money he’s seeking defending his WBA/WBC/WBO welterweight titles against the no-name opposition.
“I would like to see him fight [Conor] Benn because he’s the only one who seems like he’s asking for it,” said Bey on who Boots Ennis should fight next in his debut with Matchroom.
