Why did the IBF strip Terence Crawford of the title? We have (some) answers

Terence Crawford was stripped of his IBF title months after winning the 147-pound belt from Errol Spence Jr. in July.

The ninth-round TKO victory crowned Crawford as the undisputed welterweight champion and cemented his place as ESPN’s No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer.

Crawford, 36, still holds the WBC, WBA and WBO belts, but Jaron “Boots” Ennis is now the IBF titleholder after being elevated from interim champion.

Why was Crawford stripped of his title so soon after winning it? What did Ennis accomplish to win the title? ESPN answers these questions and more:

Why was Crawford removed from his position by the IBF?

Boxing’s four recognized sanctioning bodies (WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO) govern world titles in 17 weight categories.

When a fighter holds more than one title in a weight class, like Crawford, Canelo Alvarez or heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, among others, there is a rotation system to decide which mandatory defense is due next.

There are also optional defenses allowed by all four sanctioning bodies, as well as exceptions to mandatory defenses for unification fights and other major fights in special circumstances.

After Crawford defeated Spence, the IBF did not allow even a single optional defense. On 25 August, the IBF ordered Crawford to begin negotiations with Ennis, which were expected to be concluded by 24 September.

But there was a problem: the Crawford-Spence fight contained a two-way rematch clause that meant the loser of the fight could contractually exercise their right to an immediate rematch.

Even if Crawford wanted to fight Ennis rather than take part in a much bigger matchup against someone like Alvarez, he would have to face Spence after the latter exercised the rematch clause in August.

Unlike the other three sanctioning bodies, the IBF does not recognize rematch clauses as an exception to a mandatory defense, so Crawford was removed and the title handed to Ennis.

When was the last time Spence made a mandatory defense?

Somehow, Spence has only made one mandatory IBF defense, a first-round knockout of fringe contender Carlos Ocampo in June 2018.

How Ocampo inherited this position in the first place is a mystery, which is to be expected when it comes to the shenanigans of boxing’s sanctioning body.

Spence won the IBF title against Kell Brook in May 2017 via 11th round knockout. Since then, he has suffered two serious injuries – a car accident that hospitalized him for days and a detached retina that ended a fight with Manny Pacquiao – and fought seven times.

Three of those seven fights were unifications (fights against Shawn Porter, Yordenis Ugas and Crawford). The IBF allows these unification fights against other champions to take precedence over mandatory fights.

Following a mandatory defense, a fighter is generally allowed to make a voluntary defense against someone who is ranked. One such voluntary defense took place against Mikey Garcia. Another against Lamont Peterson. Danny Garcia was a mandatory WBC defense.

What’s unclear: why the IBF didn’t crown an interim champion until January, when Spence faced layoffs lasting more than two years.

“We probably should have ordered an interim measure sooner given the extent of Spence’s injuries,” IBF president Daryl Peoples told ESPN on Friday. “We generally try to avoid temps, but recognize that this should have been done sooner. We underestimated his recovery time. I have to admit. Nothing bad.”

What did “Boots” Ennis accomplish to win the title?

Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) is undoubtedly one of boxing’s fastest rising stars. The 26-year-old from Philadelphia impressed with his blend of athleticism, punch variety and power.

What Ennis couldn’t do: name his opponents.

“What will their excuse be now?!” Ennis wrote on Instagram on Thursday, referring to his new champion status.

Ennis won the interim title in January when he scored a shutout against fringe contender Karen Chukhadzhian. Ennis made his first defense in July in his first “Showtime Championship Boxing” main event, a homecoming of sorts in Atlantic City with a 10th-rounder of Roiman Villa.

Now, Ennis should be lined up for meaningful fights, although it’s unlikely he’ll ever fight Crawford or Spence, who could end up at 154 pounds.

Ennis’ best option could come against the winner of a scheduled fight between Eimantas Stanionis and Keith Thurman next year.

What’s happening with the Crawford-Spence rematch?

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The winner of the first fight chooses the weight of the second fight.

Spence said afterward that he was done fighting at 147 pounds. So if he wants a rematch at 154, Crawford will have to accept the weight change.

Crawford has all the leverage here. He could ask Spence to make financial concessions in exchange for increased contract weight. It’s possible the fight won’t happen at all.

The weight of the rematch has not yet been agreed upon, sources said, and nothing has been finalized as PBC seeks new television deals with longtime broadcast partner Showtime, which will exit boxing programming at the end of the year.

Now that Crawford is no longer undisputed, how many of these champions remain in boxing?

Josh Taylor was the undisputed 140-pound champion before dropping three of his four titles to pursue a rematch with Jack Catterall.

The four junior welterweight titles are now split after Taylor lost his WBO belt to Teofimo Lopez Jr. in June.

Jermell Charlo held all four titles at 154 pounds, but he was stripped by the WBO in September after moving up to 168 pounds for a fight with Alvarez. Charlo still holds the WBA, WBC and IBF super middleweight titles, while Tim Tszyu is the WBO champion at 154.

This leaves Alvarez as the only undisputed champion in men’s boxing. Naoya Inoue, who will fight Marlon Tapales on December 26 in Tokyo for the undisputed 122-pound championship, will likely join Alvarez.

On the women’s side, there are five undisputed champions: Amanda Serrano, Alycia Baumgardner, Katie Taylor, Chantelle Cameron and Claressa Shields.

Devin Haney remains the undisputed lightweight champion until Thursday, when Shakur Stevenson meets Edwin De Los Santos for the vacant WBC belt at 135 pounds. Haney, meanwhile, weighs in at 140 pounds for a Dec. 9 fight with Regis Prograis.

The biggest fight for the undisputed title will take place in February when Tyson Fury meets Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia for the four heavyweight belts.

Wait, won’t the same situation happen again with Fury, Usyk and the IBF?

That’s right: the winner of Fury-Usyk will almost certainly be stripped of his IBF title.

Fury holds the WBC belt while Usyk will enter the ring with the WBA, WBO and IBF titles. Usyk fulfilled his WBA mandatory obligation in August with a ninth-round knockout of Daniel Dubois. The next element of the rotation is the IBF.

Fury-Usyk, like Crawford-Spence, contains a bilateral rematch clause that the loser can exercise to guarantee an immediate rematch.

The IBF informed both parties last month that the winner of Fury-Usyk was required to defend against Filip Hrgovic with no intervening fight and that the organization would not grant any exceptions.

“The IBF wrote that if I won my last fight and Usyk beat Dubois, the IBF would impose my mandatory status to fight Usyk for the title,” Hrgovic told ESPN. “The IBF has now allowed Tyson Fury and Usyk to unify first. The winner of this fight is mandated to fight me immediately after, with no other fights in between, so I expect to fight for the IBF championship. heavyweights early next year.

“I’m disappointed with the delay, but I will stay ready and won’t let it distract me from my goal of winning the title. Whether it’s against Usyk or Fury, my time is coming.”

If either Fury or Usyk vacates the IBF title, as it currently stands, Hrgovic would meet Otto Wallin for the belt.