Home » Crawford must face Ennis once Spence rematch drops, says Tarver

Crawford must face Ennis once Spence rematch drops, says Tarver

Terence Crawford (40-0) should fight International Boxing Federation (IBF) king Jaron Ennis (31-0) and repeatedly avoid him, says Antonio Tarver.

Tarver, a 55-year-old boxer who won multiple light heavyweight titles in his checkered career, continues to call out Crawford. The part-time sports commentator believes Crawford should not avoid worthy challengers like Ennis.

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Ennis became the IBF welterweight interim champion after beating Ukrainian boxer Karen Chukhadzhian on January 7, 2023. The 26-year-old Philadelphia native defended the title by knocking out Roiman “Flaco de Oro” Villa of Colombia six months later on July 8.

“The only reason (Jaron) Ennis has to take a backseat is to the rematch of (Errol) Spence and Crawford,” Tarver told Shawn Porter on “The Porter Way” podcast.

“If that rematch doesn’t happen, and Crawford still campaigns as the champ, he has to face Ennis” he added.

Crawford, an undisputed champion at light welterweight and welterweight, had to give up his IBF title to avoid Ennis. Ennis was the IBF’s mandatory challenger when Crawford held the title at the time.

Crawford posted a ninth-round technical knockout victory over Spence in a unification title bout on July 29 last year in Las Vegas. Spence has since been calling out Crawford for a rematch.