Eddie Hearn is trying to land Jalen Butz-Ennis in a big fight with Terrence Crawford.
IBF champion and world welterweight champion Ennis signed a promotional deal with Matchroom, where the promotion organization will receive the benefit of defending his title for the first time against campaign title challenger Cody Crawley.
As part of its promotion, Matchroom will bring Ennis-Crawley to the 26-year-old’s hometown of Philadelphia, but the long-term plan is to pair him with Crawford, a popular player from the world.
On Wednesday, Matchroom confirmed that the WBA light welterweight bout between Crawford and Israel Madrimov will take place on August 3 in Los Angeles, with Crawford also scheduled to fight Ennis, who is at 154 pound, who plans to build his brand by improving his skills. name at 147 pounds, then try to face Crawford at light welterweight like he did at welterweight. “He’s the best boxer in Philadelphia since Bernard Hopkins,” said Eddie Hearn. –You’re talking about a serious level of conflict when it comes to American talent. Like Crawford, like [Errol] Spence, like “Canelo” [Saul Alvarez]. He was in, and they all knew it.
– This division – is very interesting. You’ve got [Emmantas] Stanionis, you’ve got [Mario] Barrios, you’ve got all these players, and they’re all very available. Guys like Spencer and Crawford don’t deserve to fight him if they’re making money. This happens. We just have to create it.
The “first thing” is what Cody Crawley is trying to implement. The plan is for the July fight in Philadelphia.
– [I wanted to sign Ennis] for four or five years – when we first went to America. He was one of 15, 16 names that “Let’s get Boots.” We contacted; and then maybe six months, a year later, we said, “Would you like it?” where we have the opportunity to do something; now we have a chance to do something. That was pretty close. Especially in this market, every big signing gets other players excited. This is how it works. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the start of three or four more wins. When we signed Canelo, it was a problem for other fighters.
“The problem he has is not working,” Hearn said of Ennis. —The last thing you want is to draft a player like him and then play him once a year or twice a year. You have to be able to box him three times a year, and a lot of days to do that – that’s what the PBC (Premium Boxing Championship) is all about. – Fights Crawford, but only if we develop Jalen to a level where Crawford can be a problem. Crawford would cost over $20 million to match Jalen, so we have to figure we can raise that number and pay him the same.
“He’s going to go up to 154, he’s going to fight champions that start at 154. But he’s going to put the division together, and we want him to go up to 154 and be the heavyweight champion of the world at after he was knocked out at 147. Crawford didn’t expect to hit him anywhere but 154, so he had to be 147 first.
Matchroom Aims to Put Jaron Ennis on Path to a Terence Crawford Blockbuster Fight https://t.co/osXiUINom7
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) April 24, 2024
Hearn said Ennis’ signing made Matchroom’s best deal, with the exception of Alvarez’s signing, which struggled to attract the American boxing market when Matchroom first reached out to the United States.
“I don’t understand how [a promoter who doesn’t compete regularly] in America can bring a star to his hometown,” he said. – Like when we took [Leeds-Josh] Warrington to Cardiff. Philadelphia was a war city. One hour drive from New York. He was very approachable and a real star. This is crazy. So I think the audience is going to be really surprised when they bring it to Philly. This is reckless.
— We took Tevin Farmer there four years ago when he boxed Jono Carroll. I don’t know of any other big boxing fights since then, this is a boxing town. It was a show, but not a big boxing match. Spirit
– We are very confident that [Devin Haney] will remain with us. Subriel Matias, world champion — good boxing. [Jesse] – Bam Rodriguez – A great player in his first season. At that time, Jaylen was in his prime. [Before] you’d meet a guy at the end of his job who wanted a payday. “I’ll find Eddie and have a fight or two.” Now you have fighters who are really good, and they trust us to train them.
– With the addition of Jaron and fighters like Bam – [Dmitry] Bivol, [Juan Francisco] Estrada – there are four more fighters in the top 10 Names, by weight, so – pa. We have to develop it so that we can give money for big fights to other groups. Crawford has more than $20 million to fight him. But if people want to resist, it will happen because they are paid.
– We know that [Jalen’s father, Derrick Bozzi Ennis,] is one of the best coaches in the world of football. But at the same time, he saw us working with Andy [Cruz]. It happens through teams, tours, exhibitions. everything. He looked at him and said, “These people are good people, and here is my child.”
