In a surprising turn of events, Terence Crawford has now been stripped of his IBF welterweight title. The news comes in the wake of a potential showdown between undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford and IBF interim welterweight champion Jaron Ennis.
Fans are divided as to why Crawford is removed from the rankings, but it looks like Bud might be moving up a weight class after all. There were murmurs of a rematch between Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. next after the latter’s coach confirmed that Errol had activated his rematch clause. However, there is no official date set for the likely showdown.
Meanwhile, things got heated between Crawford and Ennis, the young 26-year-old boxer, who has many boxing pundits calling him the next big thing in boxing.
Is Terence Crawford moving up a weight class?
It was just a couple of months ago that Terence Crawford heaped praises on Jaron Ennis; however, the relationship took a sour turn after Jaron Ennis was poised as the next mandatory challenger for Crawford’s IBF title.
With Crawford now out of the picture, it’s safe to say we won’t be seeing Crawford fight Jaron Ennis anytime soon. The rematch between Crawford and Spence Jr. is being planned for February next year but the weight class is yet to be determined. It’s likely that Crawford could be moving up a weight class.
It has also put Jaron Ennis in a peculiar situation, with fans raising questions over his status as the IBF world champion. On the flip side, many fans also feel Crawford could be dodging Ennis, who has proved to be quite a star in the welterweight division despite Crawford’s dominance in the weight class.
Meanwhile, Terence Crawford has remained tight-lipped on his future in the welterweight division.
UPDATE: The IBF has now officially confirmed that Terence Crawford was stripped of his IBF welterweight title because he was ordered to fight Jaron Ennis next, however, due to Errol Spence Jr.’s rematch clause, he won’t be able to fight Ennis next, prompting the IBF to take this decision.