Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) has been ordered by the IBF to defend his welterweight title next against his mandatory challenger Cody Crowley (22-0, 9 KOs), with the fight being targeted for May 4th on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez’s next fight.
International Boxing Federation has ordered Boots Ennis to make his next defense against #3 IBF Crowley, reports BoxingScene. It’s a ho-hum fight for U.S. fans, as many have never seen or heard of the 30-year-old Canadian Crowley.
Even the fans who know about Crowley aren’t excited about the idea of Boots Ennis facing him rather than a more interesting contender, like Giovani Santillion, Errol Spence, Conor Benn, or even Devin Haney.
Canelo Undercard Buzz
Chris Mannix reports that the Ennis vs. Crowley fight is being targeted for the undercard of Canelo Alvarez’s next fight on May 4th. Boots-Crowley being added to Canelo’s card, likely for the co-feature slot, would give them maximum exposure and good money.
Boots Ennis needs to be seen as much as possible for him to increase his star power because he’s not well-known by casual boxing fans due to his youth, and the fact that top fighters like Terence Crawford, Spence, and Keith Thurman haven’t shown interest in fighting him.
If this were another sport that’s better regulated, Ennis would already be well known, as he wouldn’t be avoided. In boxing, fighters can avoid fighting dangerous opposition to keep their careers going. We see that all the time. The heavyweight division is a perfect example, with a dead weight at the top and aging fighters.
Ennis’ Path Gets Complicated
The IBF has made things difficult for ‘Boots’ Ennis by ordering him to face Crowley, as the fight gets in the way of the 26-year-old trying to line up bigger matches against Errol Spence Jr. or Terence Crawford. Neither of those guys has a fight scheduled, and they might be interested in fighting a talent like Ennis if he wasn’t tied down with his mandatory, Crowley.
So, instead of Boots going after one of them, he’ll have to defend his IBF title against Crowley on May 4th, which will keep him tied down until then before he can look for bigger and better things.
This is the southpaw Crowley’s big chance to get some attention on his career, considering he’s been operating under the radar for the last ten years without getting much attention.