Hearn’s Plan: Pushing For An Immediate Crawford Clash After Ennis’ Debut At 154

Matchroom Chairman Eddie Hearn says once Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis defeats Uisma Lima in his debut at junior middleweight on October 11th, he’s going to be “pushing for” the Terence Crawford fight for him. Hearn wants Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) to beat all the champions at 154, and Crawford still holds the WBA title.

Ennis is fighting Lima (14-1, 10 KOs) on October 11th on DAZN at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

The Grand Crawford Plan

“I would say January or February, that kind of time,” said Hearn to Fighthype when asked about the timeline for Jaron Ennis to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr. in 2026. “Fundora, Zayas. Once he beats [Uisma] Lima, we’ll be pushing for the Crawford fight, because he’s the [WBA junior middleweight] champion still. I do think he’ll vacate at some point.”

Crawford is getting a reported $50 million payday fighting Canelo Alvarez on September 13th. For Crawford to turn around and face Ennis in his next fight after that contest, it would require Turki Alalshikh to offer him a large payday. Terence won’t want to take a massive pay cut to take a fight that is just as risky as his bout against Canelo. Losing to the 28-year-old Ennis would tarnish Crawford’s legacy, giving him a blemish on his record.

“I know Lima and his team. They’ve sent him away in the last three or four fights to people’s backyards, and he’s beaten everybody. They’re 15-0 and 17-0 fighters. This guy is a legit top 154-pounder,” said Hearn about the 32-year-old Uisma. “He’s top 10 with three governing bodies. He’s coming to change his life. He will stick it on ‘Boots’ and have a war. That’s what I want.”

Hearn is correct. The fighters that Lima beat in his last three fights had unbeaten records. But what he’s not saying is that they weren’t great talents. They were fighters who had been maneuvered to create undefeated records by beating lesser opposition. These weren’t former amateur talents. Indeed, none of the three had amateur careers.

Lima’s last three opponents

Shervantaigh Koopman
Sukhdeep Singh Bhatti
Haro Matevosyan

Chasing All the Titles

“Vergil is the interim [WBC 154-lb] champion. Boots, Vergil, Fundora, and Zayas. There are some brilliant fights to be made. Don’t forget Murtazaliev. He’s the IBF champion. He’s a beast. We’ll fight him if we need a title. 100%,” said Hearn when asked if Ennis would fight Bakhram.

Hearn should have matched Ennis against IBF champion Murtazaliev in his debut at 154 if he believes in him. There wouldn’t have been any backlash from fans if Ennis had been matched against Murtazaliev. They’d have applauded him.

“I think Boots is too good for everybody. Murtazaliev is tough, a strong boy. Tim Tszyu, he done a job on him,” said Hearn.

The logical question to ask Hearn is, if he genuinely believed ‘Boots’ is “too good for everybody,” why is he fighting the obscure fringe contender Lima? Ennis should be fighting IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev, Serhii Bohachuk, or Israil Madrimov in his first fight at 154.