Challengers are lining up for a shot at undisputed welterweight champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford 40-0 (31) following his flagship win over Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr 28-1 (22) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada last Saturday night.
Texan Spence, 33, says he plans to activate the rematch clause in his contract and hopes the bout can take place at 154-pounds. Omaha, Nebraska’s Crawford has shown interest in facing current undisputed junior middleweight champion and Spence’s stablemate Jermell Charlo 35-1-1 (19).
But perhaps the most intriguing name in the mix to face the 35-year-old is undefeated IBF interim welterweight titleholder Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis 31-0 (28).
The 26-year-old from Philadelphia says he doesn’t care who he faces next, as long as it a step towards obtaining all the belts.
“I don’t care where the opportunity comes,” Ennis said to Brian Custer on The Last Stand Podcast. “As long as I get my opportunity to be undisputed.”
Crawford is keeping his options open, but clearly wants the chance to face junior middleweight Charlo, who is scheduled to face Mexican superstar and undisputed super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 59-2-2 (39) in Las Vegas on September 30.
The decision to jump up two weight classes for a hit-and-run mission against the biggest name in boxing has not come without a cost for Charlo. Yesterday the WBO announced that they would allow the 33-year-old to enter the ring against Alvarez as their 154-pound champion but said that as soon as the bell rang, he would be stripped of the title and Australian Tim Tszyu would be elevated from interim titlist to full champion.
If Charlo moves back down in weight after the Alvarez bout as expected, he may not be the undisputed champion any more but he will still retain the highly-regarded Ring Magazine world championship.
The bad blood between Crawford and Charlo should be enough to pique fans’ interest regardless of the belts on the line.
If that fight cannot be made, Crawford indicated he would entertain facing Ennis.
“Now that could happen [a fight against Ennis] because we’re at the same weight class but at this point in time, I’m looking for bigger and better opportunities like Charlo,” Crawford said to Hot 97.
In the latter stage of his one-sided beatdown of Spence, Crawford even leaned over the ropes to give Charlo, who was sitting at ringside, a dressing-down.
“I gave him a little piece of mind,” Crawford said. “We’ve been going back [and forth] for some time and I was in the moment. I just thought to let him know that I’m coming for him, too.”
He added: “I really don’t care for dude. I wouldn’t say that I don’t like him because I have no reason not to like him. Personally, I just don’t care for him.”
The fight that seems to interest Crawford the least is a rematch with Spence, who he dropped as early as the second round, beat up through the mid-rounds of the bout, and had on the canvas twice in the seventh before referee Harvey Dock stepped in to stop the slaughter in the ninth.
But Crawford know he owes Spence the opportunity, morally if not contractually.
“I’d have to,” Crawford said. “It’s only right.”
