Terence Crawford stood tall when he faced Israil Madrimov, where each punch was thrown with calculations. In a clash of willpower and boxing IQ, he edged out the Uzbek fighter and bagged the WBA title. A few had anticipated this close encounter, where a round if it went differently, could have changed the result. But the American fighter had a fair idea of what he was getting into. Now, he wants the fans’ respect for picking a tougher champion.

Crawford, 36, had to shut down the noise about not picking other champions, with some questioning the caliber of Madrimov, 29, as a champion. However, since the fight’s conclusion, the fans have been pouring in praises for him. They hadn’t witnessed someone push ‘Bud’ to his limits in a long time and nearly stop this undefeated juggernaut. But shouldn’t Crawford be receiving respect for toppling such a champion? That’s exactly what he argues.

Crawford, at 41-0, turned to his X handle and pointed out the love that fans had bestowed on Madrimov. He wrote, “I love that everyone is giving Madrimov his credit/respect because yall haters was definitely calling him a cherry pick when we all said he was a champion for a reason. Look just give me my respect and stop the hate.”

There have been demands for a rematch between the two. But no one is sure whether the fans will get to see a rematch or not. With the support of HE Turki Alalshikh, Crawford was on his way to face Canelo Alvarez, but it seems unlikely as the Mexican champion’s attention is now on his upcoming fight with Edgar Berlanga.

If Oscar De La Hoya is to be believed, that worked out well for the Omaha native, as the holes in his game were on display against Madrimov. What’s more? There are rumors of Vergil Ortiz Jr. being next in line. So, where do the two stand in contrast to each other?

Oscar De La Hoya believes Israil Madrimov exposed Terence Crawford

De La Hoya weighed in on the gulf of skills between Ortiz Jr. and Madrimov and declared, “Better skills, I literally think he [Vergil Ortiz Jr.] has better skills. It’s not the punching power. Crawford has ring IQ like there’s no tomorrow, but he was exposed last Saturday night. He was exposed against Madrimov.”

While there are no concrete reports on who the WBA champion will take on next, HE Turki Alalshikh has charted out a plan. Teofimo Lopez and Ortiz Jr. find themselves in the mix. But Crawford could also pick other champions at 154, trying to become undisputed in a third division.

Terence Crawford dethroned Israil Madrimov winning the WBA title at 154 pounds. Now that he is the world champion in four divisions, ‘Bud’ has a lot of options on how to set up his upcoming fights. All eyes were on Bud to win his bout against Madrimov so he could cap off his illustrious boxing career with a mega fight against Mexican boxing sensation Canelo Alvarez. Since this match-up is still on hold, fans have suggested some great prospects for the Omaha native.

Crawford has been undefeated throughout his professional boxing career, with a 41-0 winning streak. So when DAZN boxing introduced the question of Terence Crawford’s next opponent in an X post, the options were aplenty for the boxing community to choose from. Many believe that it wouldn’t be safe for him to step up to 168 pounds to fight Canelo as he has just moved up to super welterweight and needs time to adjust to that weight class first. But let’s look at other suitable options for him.

The best possible options for Terence Crawford

‘Bud’ cemented his status as the undisputed champion in the welterweight division when he defeated Errol Spence Jr. last summer. The highly anticipated bout at T-Mobile Arena ended up with Crawford putting on a dominant performance against Spence. There’s no denying that Spence Jr. is a tremendous boxer. So perhaps a rematch between the two would make for an entertaining match to witness.

Then there is another thought of seeing ‘Bud’ running it again versus Israil Madrimov. It is important to note that the Uzbek boxer is the first one to push Crawford for the full 12 rounds since 2016. The scorecards read 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113. Many thought that Madrimov at least ought to have received more favorable scores from the judges, including Eddie Hearn, Madrimov’s promoter. This certainly opens up the prospect of a rematch between the two. Let’s find out what other suggestions fans have for Crawford.

A cluster of titans for the champion 

There has been a lot of debate about a clash between Terence Crawford and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. The 27-year-old is a formidable fighter at 147 pounds and has been looking for a clash with the former undisputed welterweight champion. A boxing enthusiast suggested this matchup, but he also has doubts if it would ever happen. “It should be Boots at 147 but that won’t happen,” noted the user.

26-year-old Sebastian Fundora is another great prospect for Crawford. Interestingly, he is the WBC and WBO champion at 154 pounds. Crawford’s road to becoming the undisputed champion in the super welterweight division would be simpler as he already has the WBA title. However, currently, Fundora is slated to fight Errol Spence Jr. in October. One fan suggested, “The winner between Fundora and Spence, then Canelo.” 

Many boxing fans believe that Madrimov won the fight against ‘Bud’. One such disappointed fan outright dismissed the notion of watching Crawford compete against anyone else, and simply wrote, “Rematch he lost!”

Furthermore, Tim Tszyu was set to face Virgil Ortiz Jr. at super welterweight on the Crawford-Madrimov undercard on August 3rd. However, Tszyu had to pull out of the fight due to medical reasons. Another fan wants ‘Bud’ to fight either of the two or Fundora, “Vergil, Tszyu or Fundora.”

Spence Jr. has been rumored to retire from the sport after a few fights. Even Crawford is inching closer to his retirement. It would be a thrilling fight to watch these two go at it again. One such comment suggesting this read, “Spence rematch.”

Terence Crawford might be the greatest analyst! He saw this coming from a mile away! On Monday night, the Boston Celtics demolished the Dallas Mavericks with 108-88 to take home a record 18th NBA title. It should have been a hard fought match, but ended up as nothing but a stroll in the park for the Celtics. But how did ‘Bud’ Crawford see this coming?

Well, on 31 May, the Mavericks won the series against the Timberwolves with a 21-point blowout, after which Luka Doncic was seen drinking a can of beer. To this, former undisputed champion Terence Crawford had responded on X, saying, “Job not done yet! You can have a beer when you win this last series”.

And guess what? The last series against the Celtics didn’t go as well as Doncic would have wanted. Despite that, turning to his Instagram story, Crawford seems to have finally given Doncic permission to drink a beer. In a clip shared on his story, Crawford reminded his fans about this comment and said, reacting to the Mavericks losing the game, “I was telling y’all job not finished. That’s not why he don’t need to drink no beer. That’s exactly why he didn’t need to drink no beer. See, you can’t celebrate too soon.”

He later added, “Now he can drink a beer because he on vacation. But they played good though. Congratulations Boston”. What’s more, the Celtics were never really in any danger, even when the Mavericks won Game 4 with a 38-point blowout last Friday. In fact, the same could be said about their entire playoff, where they dropped only three games. Meanwhile, Doncic appeared disheartened after suffering a Game 5 loss as he thanked his team.

Despite the loss, after the match, Doncic thanked his teammates and coaches for making an unexpected finals run. Dallas did the unlikely, being the fifth seed, by knocking off the western conference’s top four seeds: LA Clippers, OKC Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves. However, they fell short against the league-best Boston team, who went 80-21 in the regular season and playoffs.

Speaking to a bunch of reporters, Doncic said, “I’m proud of every guy that stepped on the floor. All the coaches and all the people behind [us]. Obviously, we didn’t win the finals, but we did have a hell of a season, and I’m proud of everyone”. The Mavericks consisted of players mostly under 30, so with some minor tweaks to the lineup, they should be able to fast track their way to premier contenders in next year’s championship.

A win or not, Luca Doncic seems to have taken a break from the sport, refusing to participate in next month’s FIBA Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament to improve his health. Perhaps he took Terence Crawford’s advice, possibly ready to kick back and relax with a cold one. What are your thoughts on how everything played out in the end?”

His Excellency Turki Alalshikh is currently the most sought-after matchmaker. Whether it is bringing the much-anticipated heavyweight undisputed fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk to fruition, or successfully convincing long-time rival promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren to sign on the dotted line for the Matchroom vs Queensberry 5v5 event, there is no doubt he is giving boxing fans what they want. Now, he is on a mission to revitalize boxing and has another epic matchup in mind – a battle between two champions with undisputed status: Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford. In an interview with Ariel Helwani, HE Turki Alalshikh had mentioned that he is “working on Canelo and Crawford card” in America, and wants to book it for the “end of the year or beginning of the second year.” 

Canelo, after putting on a boxing clinic against Jaime Munguia on Cinco De Mayo weekend, is patiently waiting on the sidelines for a lucrative offer for his next fight. On the other hand, Crawford, after a long period of inactivity since his undisputed fight against Errol Spence Junior, will be going up against super-welterweight champion Israil Madrimov in August as he looks to become a four-division world champion. One question on everybody’s mind is: Will Crawford be able to put on the weight to meet Canelo Alvarez at 168 next? ‘Bud’s’ last opponent in the ring, Spence Jr., thinks “he can pull it off.”

In an interview with FightHype. Errol Spence Junior stated that he would be rooting for the former undisputed welterweight champion to beat Canelo Alvarez. Not letting the devastating ninth-round knockout loss to Crawford last year cloud his judgment, Spence Jr. wants the Nebraska native champion to achieve “greatness” in the battle between two P4P greats.

“If Crawford wants to challenge himself to be great, let him try to be great. I’m with it. I’d be going for Bud. I don’t know if he’d win or lose, but if anybody can pull it off, he can pull it off. He’s chasing greatness,” he said.

Crawford is already putting on 21 pounds to fight the WBA junior middleweight champion Madrimov on August 3rd. Therefore, gaining another fourteen pounds to get to 168 doesn’t seem like a far-fetched idea.

“Canelo went up to 175 and fought Kovalev and the other guy [Dmitry Bivol], too. If he can do it, and he started at 147, if he can do it, why can’t Crawford do it,” the former unified welterweight champion further said.

Interestingly, Canelo started his career in the welterweight division. He moved all the way up to light-heavyweight to assert his dominance. However, ‘Cinnamon’s last fight in that weight class ended in defeat against Dmitry Bivol. Therefore, if Crawford wants to be on the same path, Canelo has already paved the way.

On that note, Canelo’s former promoter, the head of Matchroom Boxing, believes that a matchup against another great talent, David Benavidez, will be a more credible fight for Canelo than one against Crawford. But why does Eddie Hearn think that way?

In an interview with FightHub TV, Hearn said, “I think he’d pick Benavidez over Crawford because he knows he’d get the credit for that win, whereas he might not vs a guy three divisions lower.”

Undoubtedly, Crawford can match Alvarez in boxing skills. But, the weight gap is a cause for concern. While Crawford’s last fight was against Spence Jr at 147, Alvarez has been fighting at 168 since 2018. Moreover, ‘Canelito’ has no plans to cut down on his weight. This puts the onus on Crawford to jump from 154 lbs to 168 lbs. However, Hearn thinks that would be detrimental for Crawford, as Canelo will overpower and outsize him in the 168-pound weight class.

Undoubtedly, Crawford can match Alvarez in boxing skills. But, the weight gap is a cause for concern. While Crawford’s last fight was against Spence Jr at 147, Alvarez has been fighting at 168 since 2018. Moreover, ‘Canelito’ has no plans to cut down on his weight. This puts the onus on Crawford to jump from 154 lbs to 168 lbs. However, Hearn thinks that would be detrimental for Crawford, as Canelo will overpower and outsize him in the 168-pound weight class.

Undoubtedly, Terence Crawford is the pound-for-pound king, having dominated all 40 opponents in his decorated career. And he is expected to do the same to Israil Madrimov on August 3 at BMO Stadium, Los Angeles. So, the question is—is there anyone who can beat the former undisputed champion? Tim Bradley seems to have the answer!

And no, it’s not Canelo Alvarez, David Benavidez or even the face of boxing Gervonta Davis. Ahead of His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s debut event in America featuring Crawford vs. the boxer from Uzbekistan, Bradley appeared in an interview with Fight Hype today, sharing his verdict on the upcoming fight and unravelling who can beat ‘Bud’ Crawford.

Coming off his dominant win against Errol Spence Jr. last year, Madrimov is set to be Crawford’s first fight of 2024. So, when Bradley was asked about what the outcome of the fight may look like, the former champion seemed more than confident about Crawford’s win.

“Madrimov is strong, but you know he’s… a regular fighter [for] me. No disrespecting [to him in] anyway. I just don’t see anything really glaring at me”, said Bradley. Suggesting Madrimov does pack a punch, Bradley said, “He got a puncher’s chance for sure”.

However, Bradley thinks Crawford is levels above Madrimov, and would most likely emerge victorious in the much-anticipated fight. Bradley even went on a limb to reveal the only boxer who can beat Crawford, saying, “The only person that can beat Crawford is himself at this point”.

The upcoming fight will be Crawford’s first bout in the 154-pound division, as he looks to swipe Madrimov’s WBA super welterweight title alongside the WBO interim super welterweight title. Meanwhile, even the recently crowned undisputed heavyweight champion has similar beliefs about Crawford’s abilities!

Oleksandr Usyk brands Terence Crawford a very smart man

Ever since ‘Bud’ defeated Errol Spence Jr., his goal has been to face Canelo Alvarez after climbing three weight divisions. While Canelo had initially brushed off the idea, he has indicated the right offer can make the fight a reality.

Even HE Turki Alalshikh is adamant about making the fight late this year or early next year. So, while appearing in the Three Knockdown Rule podcast not too long ago, Oleksandr Usyk shared his verdict on the fight. And let’s just say, Canelo won’t like it!

“Terence is my friend, but he’s a crazy man. I say Terence wins. Listen, Terence is a different man. Terence works in two stances, he’s a very, very, very smart man,” said Usyk.

If Tim Bradley and Oleksandr Usyk are right, it will be a long night for Israil Madrimov on August 3. And as far as beating Crawford, it’s safe to say that no one stands a better chance than himself.

HE Turki Alalshikh‘s first endeavor outside Saudi Arabia has met with an early setback. Tim Tszyu has his comeback fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr. derailed. The Australian fighter had signed up to feature on the lucrative Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov undercard. But it seems the scars from his last battle were too deep to heal this soon.

Tszyu, 29, was coming off a close split decision loss against Sebastian Fundora, where he dropped his WBO light middleweight title. While he had started the fight strongly, the challenger’s elbow opened a cut on his head. That turned out to be the turning point of the fight as blood continued to gush down his face, which impaired his vision and kept his one hand busy. Many believed ‘The Soul Taker’ had done enough to bag the win, but the judges saw the fight differently. It seems his miseries have yet to end, as he withdrew from the August 3 fight.

Dan Rafael turned to his X handle and broke the unfortunate news to the fans. He pointed out that the doctors dissuaded Tszyu, at 24-1, from entering the squared circle this early as he had yet to recover from the nasty cut.

Rafael wrote, “Per source, Tim Tszyu has been forced to withdraw from his Aug. 3 fight vs. Vergil Ortiz Jr. on the #CrawfordMadrimov mega card being put on by @Turki_alalshikh in LA. Doc ruled him out due to terrible cut suffered vs. Fundora not being healed enough for him to fight.”

This has left the fans in a tight spot, as they were eagerly waiting for the exciting fight between two knockout artists. So, they put themselves in playmakers’ shoes and pitched the names of those they thought could replace the Sydney native.

Fans try to play matchmaker for Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov

A fan called Tszyu’s pull-out “unfortunate,” as they were excited about the middleweight boxer’s comeback. But it had only been two months since Tszyu entered the boxing ring last. They admitted, “Unfortunate news, I was really looking forward to seeing Tszyu’s return.”

A user wondered how the organizers could call off the fight when a couple of months still separated the fight. They declared, “How can they call it already with months left?”

Someone believed the cut was too deep to heal this quickly but they were still disappointed as the fight offered guaranteed fireworks. They announced frustratingly, “Damn man I knew it that gash was too deep to heal that fast smh I was low key looking forward to that fight over all of them.”

A comment tried to insert Jermell Charlo as a replacement. The two share a history, as Tszyu was Charlo’s WBO title mandatory, and when ‘Iron Man’ decided to fight Canelo Alvarez instead, the sanctioning body stripped him and elevated Tszyu as the champion. The comment read, “Jermell vs Vergil lets see it.”

Similarly, another fan picked Serhii Bohachuk, who is the current interim WBC light middleweight title holder. They said, “Or Ortiz Jr vs Bohachuk yes please!”

Lastly, someone believed the fight was booked prematurely, without giving Tszyu a proper chance to heal and train. They expressed, “Soon as it was announced I said the fight seems too soon, damn.”

Notably, Tszyu and Fundora’s fight contract didn’t include a rematch clause, as the latter was inserted in place of Keith Thurman. Therefore, he has to work his way to the top now. Meanwhile, Fundora has vacated the WBO strap and is in talks to fight Errol Spence Jr. now to bag a heavy paycheck.

Terence Crawford’s days at welterweight appear to be numbered, and sanctioning bodies seem to feel the same way, too.

On Monday, the WBC downgraded the former undisputed 147-pound titleholder to “champion in recess.”

Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) has not fought since dominating Errol Spence Jr. in a ninth-round stoppage last July for all of the division’s titles.

The Nebraska native Crawford’s next fight is scheduled for Aug. 3 at 154 pounds, against WBA titleholder Israil Madrimov. A WBO interim belt will also be on the line, and by the time the fight takes place, it could be for the full belt, as current champion Sebastian Fundora (who also holds the WBC junior middleweight title) is expected to be stripped of his WBO status as he eyes a showdown against Spence instead of moving forward with his mandatory fight.

“The WBC Board of Governors has voted in favor of accepting our proud WBC welterweight champion, Terence Crawford, to be placed as champion in recess in the welterweight division,” the WBC said in a statement. “The WBC Board also voted in favor of officially sanctioning Crawford vs. Madrimov as a final elimination bout for the mandatory position in the super welterweight division. Terence Crawford will inform the WBC which division he wishes to compete in after the August fight.”

The WBC did not outline the next steps for its current interim welterweight titleholder Mario Barrios, who earned the belt in September during a unanimous decision win against Yordenis Ugas. Barrios defended his interim title against Fabian Maidana in May.

Crawford, 36, has fought as a welterweight since 2018 and maintained that a move to 154 pounds was imminent.

In November, the IBF stripped Crawford of his title and elevated Jaron Ennis to its titleholder.

Last week, Brian Norman knocked out Giovanni Santillan and was awarded the WBO interim welterweight title.

Eimantas Stanionis is currently the WBA “regular” welterweight titlist, and the sanctioning body is the next organization set to make their ruling around Crawford’s status as division titleholder.

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. 

You ask HE Turki Alalshikh what’s wrong with boxing and he very well might have a whole list for you! Thinly spread fight cards, best fighters avoiding each other, and lack of a central body to keep everyone in line are a few issues that have pushed boxing behind MMA in the 21st century. It seems there is another issue plaguing the sports: pound-for-pound ranking. What’s exactly wrong with it? That Terence Crawford doesn’t sit atop it.

The Saudi adviser at the Royal Court recently laid down a plan to fix boxing, and it seems he also believes he can do the same with the P4P rankings. While Naoya Inoue is the current #1 P4P fighter, Alalshikh believes the honor should lie to ‘Bud’. Therefore, he has pitched the idea of a ‘project’ to help fix it. He wrote, “Inoue is a great boxer, but Crawford is the pound-for-pound number one.”

“I don’t know how the ranking works or if there’s a clear criteria, but it seems like there are some personal opinions and inaccuracies involved. I believe that boxing needs one entity to evaluate with transparency and credibility. Soon, I will support a project for that matter…!” Alalshikh continued.

It seems the decision stuck a cord with Crawford, 36. The American boxer turned to his X handle and replied with an amusing remark. He responded, “if you know, you know [silence emoji].” 

Notably, Inoue defended his undisputed super bantamweight crown against Luis Nery on May 6 and has been the more active fighter of the two. Meanwhile, Crawford has yet to mark his return to the squared circle since defeating Errol Spence Jr. But Crawford is central to Alalshikh’s global plans, as he headlines Alalshikh’s first card out of Saudi Arabia. The Omaha native fights Israil Madrimov with the WBA junior middleweight title on the line on Aug. 3 In addition, Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority’s chairman has ambitious plans involving him, as he is looking to set up bigger fights for him.

Alalshikh wants to set up Canelo Alvarez vs. Crawford as he eyes a timeline of December or January. He told ESPN, “I’m working to deliver [Canelo Alvarez], but it will be big fight [for Terence Crawford]. I’ll discuss with him the names. “

Crawford has expressed his desire to meet Alvarez to seal off his legacy. However, the weight disparity between the two always caused concerns about the feasibility of the fight. It seems Alalshikh doesn’t want to keep the fans waiting for a fight that can be called the biggest fight in boxing.

Finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Fans of Terence Crawford might have to wait for just another three months. Crawford, the first man to become an undisputed champion in two divisions, aims to add one title to his name. To further his ambition, he has decided to challenge the reigning light middleweight champion, Israil Madrimov, for his WBA belt. So today, through his Instagram story, the unified welterweight champion made it clear what he intends to do. As it appears, Crawford roped in the lines from rap legend Kendrick Lamar‘s latest number.

But why did Crawford use this track to promote his fight? Lamar, it seems, has used P4P number 1’s name for his latest diss single against Drake. So as much as it aids the rap legend, perhaps it might add some weight to Crawford’s drift as well!

Ahead of the anticipated bout in Los Angeles on August 5, Terence Crawford and Israil Madrimov faced off for the first time with the ‘Big Apple’s Times Square appearing in the background. Crawford posted the images from the faceoff in his IG story and in the caption of the slides, he announced what’s about to come: “Terence Crawford Era.” But it’s the message written on the top that would have perhaps caught everyone’s attention. It read, “Yeah, I’am whooping feet.”

Many fans might have come across that line somewhere. But where precisely? In his fast-catching track, ‘Euphoria’, Grammy Award-winning Kenrick Lamar dropped Terence Crawford’s name. The six-minute-long diss track is aimed at the Canadian rapper and songwriter Drake, with whom Lamar has been having a long-standing beef.

“I don’t like you poppin’ shit at Pharrell; for him, I inherit the beef / Yeah, f*ck all that pushin’ P. Let me see you push a T / You better off spinnin’ again on him. You think about pushin’ me? / He’s Terrence Thornton, I’m Terence Crawford, yeah, I’m whoopin’ feet,” so went the particular lines from Lamar’s latest answer to Drake.

Both Kendrick and Drake remained on cordial terms during the early stages of their careers as they frequently joined hands. Their first collaboration was over the number ‘Buried Alive Interlude’ which was part of Drake’s 2011 album named ‘Take Care.’ In 2012, Drake invited Lamar for the opening act of his Club Paradise Tour.

The beef between two of rap’s biggest names reportedly commenced sometime in 2013. In one of the verses of Big Sean’s song ‘Control,’ Kendrick called out a string of rappers. He said, “I got love for you all, but I’m trying to murder you.” This did not go down well with Drake as he branded it “an ambitious thought.”

In October last year, the Toronto-born rapper released his album ‘For All The Dogs’ where the collaborator, J Cole suggested in a verse that he, Drake, and Kendrick were the “big three” of modern-day hip-hop. The verse read, “Love when they argue the hardest MC / Is it K. Dot [Kendrick]? Is it Aubrey [Drake]? Or me? / We the big three, like we started a league.” This song peaked in the charts for a week only to be replaced by Taylor Swift’s ‘Cruel Summer.’ In the album ‘We Don’t Trust You,’ there was an uncredited verse by Lamar where he took a dig at both Cole and Drake and the track ends with Kendrick vowing to put all of Drake and J Cole’s “dogs” in the “pet sematary.”

Although Terence Crawford didn’t respond to Kendrick Lamar directly for using, his name, adding the song in his Instagram post and story suggests it may be a subtle nod of approval. Meanwhile meandering through ups and downs post-victory over Spence Jr., he landed up with a fight no one expected.

Terence Crawford towards the third realm

After trouncing the Texan southpaw, Crawford expressed an interest in fighting Canelo Alvarez. Nevertheless, barring the initial call-outs, talks never proceeded to the next level. Moreover, the idea of ‘Bud’ jumping three divisions up doesn’t appear too appealing either. Then, in September, Spence Jr. activated his rematch clause. However, just when the subject started catching some heat, news of the former unified welterweight champion undergoing cataract surgery pushed the matter to the backburner once again.

‘Bud’ has also activated his status as the WBO’s ‘super champion’ at Welterweight and utilized it to become their mandatory challenger at Super-Welterweight.

Interestingly, Terence Crawford’s decision to push with the Spence Jr. rematch exacted a toll on his titles. His inability to defend the IBF title resulted in Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, until then an interim title holder, becoming a full champion. Thus, from the undisputed champion, ‘Bud’ got relegated to unified status. However, as it’s apparent, the setback hasn’t robbed the legend of his dream.