Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Cody Crowley will be acquired along with Eddie Hearn.
Matchroom Boxing outbid TGB Promotions to acquire promotional rights to the ordered IBF welterweight title fight. Ennis’ promoter Matchroom made an offer of $3.91 million during a purse bid hearing on Tuesday. This amount was nearly double the $2 million offered by TGB, which represented Crowley during the protracted negotiation period.
This result brought an end to a saga that had been postponed several times and threatened to result in a complete failure of the battle.
No date or location has been disclosed for this article in preparation for publication. Matchroom suggested in a post to X that such a deal would be revealed in the coming days.
I am happy that I was able to win the wallet. @JaronEnnis vs IBF Mandatory Challenger Cody Crowley – Full announcement coming soon 👊 #Ennis Crowley pic.twitter.com/fumTIeAt77
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) April 23, 2024
Both players will receive healthy seven-figure salaries for the first fight ordered on January 31st. The March 1 deadline passed with virtually no progress. The purse bid hearing was scheduled for March 19, but was postponed for one week at the request of the TGB. A public hearing scheduled for March 26 was canceled entirely after TGB informed IBF that “both parties have reached an agreement.”
However, no such agreement had been concluded.
Matchroom signed Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) of Philadelphia, The Ring’s No. 2 ranked welterweight, to a multi-fight deal earlier this month. Shortly after this announcement, the bid for the title fight was rescheduled.
This time there were no more delays.
Ennis was initially represented in negotiations by his father and head trainer Derek ‘Bosie’ Ennis. They also filed a lawsuit seeking separation from NOW Boxing Promotions. The two sides subsequently reached a settlement and Ennis became a free agent before signing with Matchroom.
TGB Promotions represented Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) in negotiations with Canada’s Crowley (22-0, 9 KOs), who is ranked No. 4 at 147.
Interestingly, Crowley found himself in a position to challenge for this title after previously violating that very condition. He is still involved in the WBC-mandated eliminator vs. Sissokho fight. The bout also went to a bidding hearing, which France-based All Star Boxing won. Both fighters are scheduled to earn $214,999.65 from the purse bid results.
The decision should be easy for Crowley. He would earn more than five times the salary to face Ennis instead, with the IBF belt on the line.
The next fight will be Ennis’ first defense as a full IBF titlist. It is also the first time he has appeared on a non-PBC-branded program since January 2020. He had worked with the company for the past seven games but was not signed. But that didn’t lead to him challenging the top welterweights.
Ennis was promoted from interim to full tilt on November 28 last year. The then undefeated 26-year-old’s hope was to aim for the full IBF title.
Terrence “Bud” Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) stopped No. 1 ring contender Errol Spence Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs) in nine rounds on July 29 of last year, locking him in the division. Completely unified and won the Ring Championship. Las Vegas. He was immediately ordered to face Ennis next.
There were no discussions between the sides during the negotiations. Instead, Crawford informed the IBF that a rematch with Spence was contractually bound to him. Such a clause is not allowed by the IBF, which stripped Crawford of his title.
Ennis defeated Karen Choukajian (23-1, 13 KOs) by unanimous decision on January 6 of last year to win the interim IBF belt. In the end, he defeated No. 10 Roiman Villa (26-3, 24 KOs) at 147 in a nine-round stoppage. July 8th. Showtime’s featured game took place in Atlantic City, about an hour from Ennis’ hometown.
Matchroom hopes to introduce Ennis in a true Philadelphia homecoming. However, it is unclear at the time of publication whether this match will provide that opportunity.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JakeNDaBox
