Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe wants to see Terence Crawford fight the young phenom Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis rather than continue beating the drum for a fight with Saul Canelo Alvarez, which the Mexican star said will NOT happen.
Ellerbe says that Errol Spence Jr. gave Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) a chance to fight when he didn’t have to. Errol reached out and made that fight happen, not Crawford. So, the Mayweather Promotions CEO feels that Crawford should do the same for Boots Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs).
That’s a “50-50” fight,” Ellerbe said about Crawford vs. Ennis, and obviously, Terence knows that as well; hence, he wants no part of the young Boots.
Crawford says he’s not interested in fighting the 26-year-old Ennis because he wants to focus on only the big fights from now on, and he feels he’s earned that right by toiling away for 15 years in the sport.
Unfortunately for Crawford, other than a rematch with Spence, which might not happen, the big fights that he wants against Canelo and Jermell Charlo don’t look promising.
Canelo already said this week that he’s not going to fight Crawford because he won’t get credit for beating him from the fans. If Jermell loses to Canelo, a fight between him and Crawford won’t be worth much, particularly if Charlo is coming off a knockout loss.
Crawford would be better off at that point by fighting Boots Ennis unless he wants to move up to 168 and risk his unbeaten record against David Benavidez or David Morrell Jr, which he probably has no interest in. Crawford wants that Canelo payday, and he knows his chances of beating Benavidez & Morrell are zero.
“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,” said Mayweather CEO Leonard Ellerbe to Fighthype about him wanting Terence Crawford to face his IBF welterweight mandatory Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis rather than Canelo Alvarez, who has already said he’s not interested in fighting him because boxing fans won’t give him credit for beating him.
Crawford should fight Boots Ennis
“Everybody deserves an opportunity,” said Ellerbe when told that Team Crawford could argue that ‘Boots’ Ennis hasn’t done enough to earn that level of a fight with the pound-for-pound king. “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.”
Boots Ennis has done more than enough to deserve a fight with Crawford. Ennis is Crawford’s IBF mandatory challenger, and if he doesn’t want to fight him, he’s going to need to give up that belt.
“That fight happened because of Errol Spence, not because of Terence Crawford,” said Ellerbe. “So, let’s be clear on that. Errol decided to make some concessions. That’s why that fight happened. Terence Crawford is a terrific fighter, but I would like to see him give Boots an opportunity.
“I think that you got two terrific fighters. 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. Boots already would have fought and an elite guy if he was with Mayweather Promotions. Boots would be one of the most talked about fighters like a Gervonta Davis in the sport,” said Ellerbe.
It’s unclear why Boots Ennis’ promoter hasn’t gotten him a title shot already because with 31 wins, the seven-year pro should have already gotten a world title shot a long time ago. Crawford won his first world title in his sixth year as a pro, and he didn’t have nearly the amount of hype behind him as Boots has.
Granted, Crawford was fighting in a much weaker division at 135, but still, he got a shot faster than Boots, who is far more popular than he was back in 2014 when he beat an over-the-hill Ricky Burns to capture the WBO lightweight strap.
“Tank is on another level, and everyone knows how I feel about Tank. You don’t have to compare the guys,” said Ellerbe. Boots is in a situation where he’s in a division, and he has the ability to move because he’s still growing and to fight a number of guys and establish a tremendous legacy for himself and also make a s**t load of money.
“He’s [Boots Ennis] got to be in the right situation and working with the right [people], but I’m wishing him the most success. But that’s the fight [Crawford vs. Ennis] that me personally, I would love to see that fight.
“That fight right there, that’s a 50-50 fight, and that’s no disrespect to Crawford. Crawford is that dude, but Boots Ennis is that dude too. Boots Ennis is that dude too,” said Ellerbe.
