Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis returned to the ring on Saturday night with a dominant fifth-round stoppage of veteran David Avanesyan and immediately set his sights on “big names” including Terence Crawford.
Ending more than one year of inactivity and fighting in his hometown of Philadelphia for the first time in almost six years, Ennis (32-0-0 29 KO) expectedly proved levels above Avanesyan (30-5-1 18 KO), although it was a far from flawless performance. Boots admitted himself that his timing was off on occasion and his defense was breached too often by the Armenian.
Still, it was a display that did enough to feed into the hype that claims Ennis is the next man to take over the welterweight division. That the IBF world champion defeated Avanesyan a round earlier than Crawford has not gone unnoticed, either.
With Ennis’ stock on the rise and Crawford considered by many boxing’s pound-for-pound best, clamor for a mega-fight between the pair continues to increase. It has quickly become the new fight all fans want to see.
READ: Terence Crawford vs Errol Spence rematch: Crawford explains how they can cross paths
As Canelo Alvarez continues to show little interest in fighting David Benavidez, and a catchweight fight between Canelo and Crawford always feeling fanciful, attention has now turned to a showdown between the former undisputed welterweight champion and the division’s hottest new star.
However, boxing fans have been in this position too many times before; the biggest fights everyone wants to see simply don’t get made as often as they should, leaving fans frustrated and ultimately damaging the sport’s standing.
Thankfully, there is one man who has set about changing all that in recent years and will no doubt be instrumental to ensuring Crawford v Ennis doesn’t become another super-fight that ends up on the scrap heap.
Saudi Arabian boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh has transformed boxing. Backed up near unlimited financial resources as Saudi Arabia engineers itself to become a global fight capital, Alalshikh has done more than any individual to make sure the biggest fights are being made over the past two or three years.
Now Alalshikh has taken a proactive role in Crawford’s career, we can expect to see ‘Bud’ back in the ring fighting the best more frequently following a spell of frustrating inactivity. It’s been more than one year since his masterful victory over Errol Spence Jr to become the undisputed welterweight champion.
Crawford returns on August 3 in the headline bout of Alalshikh and Riyadh Season’s first international card as the two-weight undisputed champion goes for a world title in a third division against WBA super-welterweight title holder Israil Madrimov in Los Angeles.
However, the wheels are seemingly already in motion for a showdown with Ennis at 154lbs once Crawford gets past Madrimov.
I just reached out to boxer Jaron Ennis and Eddie Hearn to congratulate him on his win and I'd love to see Ennis in fight with Crawford at weight 154 soon🤷🏻♂️🥊🔥
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) July 14, 2024
“I just reached out to boxer Jaron Ennis and [his promoter] Eddie Hearn to congratulate him on his win and I’d love to see Ennis in fight with Crawford at weight 154 soon,” Alalshikh posted on social media after Boots’ win over Avanesyan.
Matchroom Boxing boss Hearn, who has a close working relationship with Alalshikh having held numerous fights in Saudi Arabia, responded by insisting Ennis is very much interested in the bout.
“His Excellency [Alalshikh] watched the fight, and he wanted to have a quick word with Boots. He said if there’s no Canelo fight, he wants to make Boots vs. Crawford. ‘Would we do it?’ The answer is, of course,” said Hearn to iFL TV.
Hearn had earlier said in the ring that he would back Ennis against any welterweight, describing his fighter as “the future of boxing … I think he beats everyone … [Ennis] is a special fighter that needs to be tested against the best in the world.”
World class fighter now hun? 🤣🤣🤣 my the double standards be crazy!!! @EddieHearn you talk good.
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) July 14, 2024
That prompted a response on social media from Crawford, who wrote: “World class fighter now hun? My the double standards be crazy!!! @EddieHearn you talk good.”
While still early days, the momentum certainly appears to be building, and with Alalshikh determined to make this fight happen, boxing fans should be cautiously optimistic that we should see Ennis and Crawford go toe-to-toe.
Additionally, now that Riyadh Season has gone overseas – first to Los Angeles next month and then to London for Daniel Dubois v Anthony Joshua on September 21 – any potential obstacle limiting the fight to Riyadh no longer exists.
Now it’s up to the respective fighters and their teams to agree terms and get it on.
