Crawford Retirement Could Be Broken

Tim Bradley believes there is only one scenario that could entice Terence Crawford out of retirement — and it starts with Jaron Ennis cleaning out the middleweight division.

Crawford retired in December, months after dethroning Canelo Alvarez for the undisputed super-middleweight crown to become a three-division undisputed champion. By any measure, he had nothing left to prove.

Yet the whispers about a Crawford-Ennis fight refuse to go away. Ennis became a two-division unified champion in June, stopping Xander Zayas in the seventh round to claim the WBA and WBO welterweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">super-welterweight titles.

Many now regard him as the top fighter at 154 pounds, though unification fights with Sebastian Fundora and Josh Kelly remain unfinished business at that weight.

Bradley says none of that is enough to move Crawford: "Boots ain't got anything that Crawford needs, nothing at all. Well, Boots — if you go up to 160 and you wipe out the whole division and you win all the straps there, maybe that might be enticing."

Ennis first attempted to chase Crawford down in 2023, when he held IBF mandatory status at welterweight and Crawford had just stopped Errol Spence Jr. in nine rounds. The fight never materialised then. For it to make sense now, Bradley says Ennis needs to do something historic first.