Crawford Should Fight Ennis – Says Leonard Ellerbe

Leonard Ellerbe has called on Terence Crawford to face Jaron Ennis instead of Canelo Alvarez. 

Bud is the current undisputed welterweight champion, having beaten Errol Spence Jr. by stopping him in the ninth round. As a result, Ennis became the IBF mandatory for Crawford.

However, Spence has activated his rematch clause with both fighters expressing their intention to fight at 154. Therefore, any chances of a fight with Ennis look unlikely.

In addition, Crawford has expressed his intention to fight Canelo Alvarez at 168 pounds. This would require Crawford to jump up three weight classes in an attempt to become undisputed at super middleweight. And yet, Ellerbe wanted to see a Crawford-Ennis fight. 

Crawford-Ennis

“Terence Crawford, as a fan, I want to see him fight Boots. That’s the fight I want to see. I want to see that fight. Everybody deserves an opportunity. Terence had to be given an opportunity.  If EJ [Errol Spence] didn’t step up and say, X, Y, and Z, that fight wouldn’t have happened,” Ellerbe

In reality, however, Ennis does nothing for Crawford’s legacy. The former does not possess any belts, despite being undefeated. In addition, if Crawford does vacate his belts, then Ennis would be at the front of the queue to fight for them.

With that being said, there is no pressing need on either fighters’ part to make the fight. Nevertheless, if Crawford moves up, then Ennis could become the full IBF champion by default since he is the interim champion.

And at the age of 26, Boots still has a long way to go in his career. However, given that he has already had 31 wins, it has been surprising to see that the fighter has not had a title shot. And that is something that Ellerbe did pick up on. 

Ennis’ Title Shot

“Boots is 25, 26. He’s ten years younger than him, and he’s motivated. People say, ‘Boots is ready. Boots is ready, ready.’ Floyd’s is very, very high on him, but I’m just as high on him too. I’ll say this. He’s working with somebody right now. He has a promoter, and I would never interfere in any of that, but if Boots Ennis was working with Mayweather promotions, we’d be having a different kind of conversation. Boots Would Have Already Gotten A Title Shot A lot of things that are going on right now wouldn’t be going on right now,” Ellerbe

Ultimately, Crawford is 36 years old. Therefore, there is no need for the boxer to take on risks at the latter end of his career. Facing Ennis is a high-risk, low-reward, fight since he is expected to win.

Meanwhile, a fight against Canelo is something that Crawford would be an underdog in. Therefore, a loss would not be damaging for his legacy. But a win for Bud would put him down as one of the best of all-time.

And that is something that must be factored in when judging Crawford’s choice of opponents moving forward. You can stay up-to-date with the latest happenings in the world of boxing and MMA by visiting boxingblitz right here.