WBO Orders Terence Crawford Vs. Alexis Rocha
The WBO has requested that Terence Crawford, the reigning 147-lb champion, must face Alexis Rocha, the current #1 contender, within the next 20 days.
If they are unable to reach an agreement, then a purse bid will take place. Even though a bout has been requested, there is no guarantee that it will occur.
Crawford, who is 35 years old, is aiming to secure a fight against Errol Spence Jr for a unification match. There is minimal time for the two to come to an agreement as the purse bid is scheduled in three weeks.
WBO ha ordenado a Terence Crawford defender su Mundial wélter ante su retador mandatorio Alexis Rocha
Las partes disponen de 20 días para llegar a un acuerdo o se ordenará subasta pública #CrawfordRocha pic.twitter.com/nsD0iy5yYH
— JuliusJulianis (@julianisjulius) February 27, 2023
Despite not having achieved much in the ring, Rocha (22-1, 14 KOs) is still being rewarded with a title shot due to Vergil Ortiz Jr, who was the #1 WBO mandatory, selecting to pursue a championship bout against the WBA’s ‘regular’ welterweight champion Eimantas Stanionis instead.
In 2020, Rocha was defeated by Rashidi Ellis in a twelve-round bout which, whilst competitive, was largely one-sided.
In the six fights that have followed, Rocha has done very well, and he won impressively against George Ashie. And yet, Crawford could potentially earn more by battling Spence.
If that does not come to fruition, Crawford will face Rocha, and Spence could step up to the 154-lb division to take on Keith Thurman.