Crawford Announces Spence Rematch As Next Fight, Criticizes IBF For Stripping Him
Terence Crawford has confirmed that his next fight will be the Errol Spence Jr. rematch.
The news comes shortly after the IBF had stripped Bud of his belt after he had beaten Spence to become the first undisputed welterweight champion of the four-belt era. The removal of the belt came as Crawford could not defend his title against Jaron Ennis, who was the IBF mandatory at the time. Bud was contractually required to face Spence, given that the latter had enforced the rematch clause.
The terms of the rematch allowed Crawford to choose the weight since he was victorious. Bud did state that the fight would go ahead at 147, as per the contract. But since Spence struggled to make the welterweight limit, a fight may now be in doubt. And with the terms of the fight yet to be agreed, as the weight class and fight date were outstanding, the IBF elevated Ennis to be the full champion.
That has left question marks over the Spence rematch since the ‘Truth’ can no longer fight for undisputed. Meanwhile, with Showtime leaving boxing at the end of 2023, the rematch looks no closer to happening. And yet, Crawford was adamant that it would be his next fight, thus ruling out a fight with Ennis.
“We signed to do a rematch, and that’s what it is. I don’t have a date, but I know that’s the next fight for Terence Crawford. It’s up in the air due to the fact that Showtime has decided not to do boxing. Nothing has been noted to me that the fight would not happen. The contract says 147, and that’s where it will be right now. We can decide on 154 or 147,” Crawford stated
In addition, Crawford was also visibly unhappy at the removal of the belt. Since he had only had the IBF title for under three months, the news was out of the blue. However, given that Crawford has achieved everything at the weight class, the fighter was not too downbeat over the decision. And in doing so, he made it clear that he was the best in the division.
“When Terence Crawford leaves the division [Ennis is the best], but right now, Terence Crawford is the ultimate of all ultimates in the division…Man, f— the IBF! That’s what I say,. You know what I mean? F— the IBF and they organization. I don’t give a f— about, you know what I mean, the IBF. They stripped me damn near 2½ months after [I won] my title, not knowing what was gonna happen next. But it’s cool, though. I’m not mad at ‘em, you know? I got what I needed, and that was, you know, undisputed. And the rest is history. You know, I don’t care about none of that,” Crawford stated
Reaction
These corrupt organisations don’t want an undisputed champion, throw their belts in the bin , the ring belt is the one to have
— Larry Og (@LarryOgMolloy) November 16, 2023
They stripped fury 7 days after beating klitschko…so there is precedent
— boxingp4p Jack (@Boxingp4pJack) November 16, 2023
Well Bud made it pretty clear he didn’t want to fight Boots so why complain
— Violator (@violate_u) November 16, 2023