Right Then, What Was That Actually About
Right then. For a man who keeps insisting he is retired, Terence Crawford is remarkably busy.
For weeks now he has been poking Jaron “Boots” Ennis on social media, including publicly asking whether Ennis would fight him next. Ennis said yes. And Crawford has now gone on Ring Champs and explained that the yes was the whole point.
“I'm not motivated to do anything. I'm chilling. I told everybody I'm retired. It wasn't no call out. It was just a point to prove that one individual is ducking another individual.”
The individual being ducked, in Crawford's telling, is Vergil Ortiz Jr at junior middleweight.
The Argument, Stripped Down
Crawford's logic runs like this. Ennis will happily accept a fight with a 39-year-old retired man he has no realistic chance of actually getting in the ring with, because that fight costs him nothing and buys him a fortnight of headlines. Meanwhile the fight that actually exists — the young, heavy-handed, avoid-at-all-costs Ortiz at 154 — does not get made.
Make no mistake, that is not a stupid argument. It is the oldest move in the sport: call out the man who cannot fight you, so you never have to answer about the man who can.
The Josh Kelly Bit
Crawford's second shot was sharper and, I think, more revealing. Ennis stopped Josh Kelly and then described Kelly as the most skilful fighter at 154. Crawford was not having it:
“Then you come and you stop him and now you saying 'this guy is the best guy in the division?' That's crazy. We all know that's a lie.”
He has a point, and it is a point that stings a bit over here. Kelly is a lovely watch on his night and one of the most naturally gifted fighters this country has produced in twenty years, but he had already been stopped by David Avanesyan back in 2021, and Crawford did the same to him in 2020. Beating a man two other people have already stopped and then calling him the division's best is grade-inflation, and everyone knows it.
Now The Other Side Of It
All that said — let's not beat around the bush about what Crawford is doing here either.
He is 42-0, four-division champion, undisputed at two weights, and has nothing left to prove to anybody. He has also retired. Spending your retirement baiting an active 29-year-old champion on the internet, and then dressing it up as public-interest journalism about ducking, is a bit much.
Ennis has done plenty. He has cleared out most of the welterweight division, moved up, and got a stoppage over a credible operator. He has not done the Ortiz fight, and that is fair to raise. But Crawford raising it while sitting on a sofa is not exactly a neutral intervention.
So Does Ennis-Ortiz Get Made?
Not yet. Ennis is expected to defend his IBF welterweight title later this year, which conveniently keeps him at 147 for a few more months and pushes the 154 conversation into 2027.
That is the tell, honestly. If you wanted the Ortiz fight, you would be at 154 already.
Luke's Verdict
Crawford is right about the substance and wrong about the method. Ennis is avoiding Ortiz, and he should be asked about it every single time a microphone goes near him until it is signed.
But I will say this for Boots — the man is a serious, serious fighter, and the moment he takes Ortiz he will get every bit of credit this sport can hand out.
My call: Ennis-Ortiz gets made in the second half of 2027, and Ennis wins it on points in a genuinely brilliant fight. I think he is the better boxer and I think he knows it, which makes the delay all the more annoying.
As for Crawford coming back? He is not coming back. He has just found a way to stay in the conversation without taking a punch, and you have to admire the craft.
More from the welterweight picture on our news page, and every confirmed date is on the fight schedule.