Cody Crowley has failed his eye exam, leaving Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis high and dry for his maiden title defense for IBF welterweight strap on July 13th in Philadelphia.
This is a major buzzkill for Boots Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs), who was coming off a one-year layoff for this fight, is now without an opponent, and is now likely off the July 13th card unless his promoter, Eddie Hearn, can work his magic and find someone in light speed.
Hearn has access to many British fighters who might be interested in fighting Boots Ennis, but maybe not. The bar was already low with Crawley, a virtual unknown to casual boxing fans, being used as Boots Ennis’ opponent. So, Hearn can almost get anyone from the UK, and it would be a lateral move, even if they’re not well known.
Hearn promotes Conor Benn, and he would be a good option as a replacement. He’s looked so bad lately, and he might choose to refuse if Hearn offers the fight to him.
If the IBF insists on Boots defending against one of their ranked contenders, they could work down their list of contenders, offering the fight to each one until someone says yes. The liklihood of anyone agreeing to fight a dangerous talent like Boots Ennis on one month’s notice is remote.
ESPN reports that the 31-year-old Cody Crowley (22-0, 9 KOs) recently had eye surgery. His eye didn’t pass the pre-fight exam, so he’s history for the July 13th card.
Vergil Ortiz Jr.’s opponent for August 3rd, Tim Tszyu, pulled out of their fight because his cut from last March had not healed.
However, Ortiz Jr. now fights at 154, and he probably wouldn’t be interested in dropping down to 147 to fight Boots Ennis, given that moving up in weight was too hard on his body in the first place.
Boots Ennis last fought in July 2023, stopping Roiman Villa in the tenth round in Atlantic City. That was obviously a long time ago. Ennis wanted to fight Terence Crawford for his IBF belt, but he had other ideas and moved up to 154.
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