Shawn Porter says he doesn't see Jaron 'Boots' Ennis fighting Terence Crawford before he retires.
Porter says Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) only wants to win the belts at 154 and get a Canelo Alvarez fight before hanging up his gloves.
This isn't a big revelation because if Crawford wanted a fight with Boot Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs), he wouldn't have left the 147-lb division without facing him.
Crawford takes on a lesser-known foe, Israel Madrimov, with a much higher form of respect than fighting the Brothers. He could have fought Boot to regain his IBF title, but chose to move up to 154.
Crawford's Reluctance to Face Ennis
Crawford's move let the world know that he wasn't confident about beating Ennis. Instead of moving up to 154, he'll go after the champions at that weight and wait to see if the Canelo fight falls into his lap.
Ennis is conservative in the way he approaches his career, not moving up to 154 to chase down Crawford and his biggest fights in that weight class.
He is focused on his narrow goal of winning belts at 147. He fails to realize that this division is so weak that he will gain nothing by beating the remaining belt holders, Eimantas Stanionis, Mario Barrios, and Brian Norman Jr.
While Crawford sows weakness by moving up to 154 without fighting Boots, Jaron also fails to take risks by staying in the deadweight division instead of moving up in weight. Even if Boot Ennis never wins against Crawford, he can still increase his popularity by fighting these guys at 154:
– Errol Spence
– Sebastian Fundora
– Tim Tszyu
– Erickson Lubin
– Brian Mendoza
– Vergil Ortiz
– Xander Zayas
– Serhii Bohachuk
– Jesus Ramos
Crawford's Real Motives
“He's not even close to finding Crawford. I don't think Crawford will take this fight,” said boxing expert Shawn Porter on Fight Hub TV when asked if Jaron 'Boots' Ennis will get a fight with Terence Crawford. “Everyone is counting on Prince Turki Alalshikh to make that war. I don't think it's happening.”
It would be interesting if Boot Ennis wanted to put Crawford on the spot by moving up to 154 to chase him down and grab one belt before he gets there with his goal of not being a contender at that weight.
If Boots gets his hands on the IBF belt by defeating Bakhram Murtazaliev, Crawford will have to face him or give up his no-nonsense goal.
That would make him look weak, but it's unlikely Crawford is willing to face what many believe is his better half.
“The reason he reached 154 is that he wants to win 154. Besides getting the belts at 154 and fighting Canelo Alvarez, I don't think there's anything else Terence Crawford wants to do. Getting in the ring with Boot is something he's interested in,” said Porter.
It will be interesting to see what happens to Crawford at age 154. Assuming a win over WBA 154-lb champion Israel Madrimov on August 3, Crawford would either stay in the division to hold the remaining three belts or retire if he wins the Canelo fight. Turki Alalshikh's silver bowl without working for it?
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