Jaron Ennis-Cody Crowley: Matchroom Boxing Outbids TGB Promotions To Land IBF Title Fight

Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Cody Crowley will earn with Eddie Hearn.

Matchroom Boxing outbid TGB Promotions to gain promotional rights to the ordered IBF welterweight title fight. Matchroom, Ennis’ promoter, posted a $3,910,000 offer during Tuesday’s purse bid hearing. The amount nearly doubled the $2,000,000 submission by TGB, who represented Crowley during the drawn-out negotiation period.

IBF purse bid rule 10.E. (Disbursement of Bid Proceeds) states that the split is 85/15 for a fight between champion and any challenger rated No. 3 or lower. Ennis is due $3,323,500 as a result. Crowley is entitled to the remaining $586,500 as the IBF No. 3-rated contender.

The result finally puts to end a saga that saw several delays and the threat of the fight falling through altogether.

Neither a date nor location were made available as this goes to publication. Matchroom indicated in a post on X that such deals will be revealed in the coming days.

We're delighted to win the purse bid for @JaronEnnis vs IBF mandatory challenger Cody Crowley – Full announcement dropping soon #EnnisCrowley pic.twitter.com/fumTIeAt77

— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) April 23, 2024

Both fighters will earn career-best paydays for a title fight that was first ordered on Jan. 31. The March 1 deadline came and went with virtually no progress made. A purse bid hearing was scheduled for March 19 but delayed by one week at TGB’s request. The rescheduled March 26 hearing was canceled outright, when TGB informed the IBF that “both sides reached an agreement.”

No such agreement was in place, however.

Matchroom signed Philadelphia’s Ennis (31-0, 28 knockouts), The Ring’s No.2 welterweight, to a multi-fight deal earlier this month. The announcement was immediately met with a rescheduled purse bid for this title fight.

There were no more delays this time around.

Ennis was initially represented in talks by his father and head trainer Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis. Their side also filed a lawsuit to separate from NOW Boxing Promotions. They have since reached a settlement, which left Ennis as a free agent before he signed with Matchroom.

TGB Promotions was the point of contact in negotiations for Canada’s Crowley (22-0, 9 KOs), No. 4 at 147, on behalf of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC).

Interestingly, Crowley found himself in position to challenge for this title after he previously violated those very terms. He remains linked to a WBC-ordered eliminator versus Cissokho. That fight also went to a purse bid hearing, which was won by France-based All Star Boxing. Both fighters are due to make $214,999.65 from the purse bid result.

The decision should be an easy one to make for Crowley. The payday is far greater to instead face Ennis, and with the IBF belt at stake.

The forthcoming bout will mark Ennis’ first defense as a full IBF titlist. It is also his first appearance outside of a PBC-branded show since January 2020. He was aligned with—but never signed to—the company for his past seven bouts. However, it never led to his landing a shot at any of the top welterweights.

Ennis was elevated to full titlsit from interim last November 28. The hope for the unbeaten 26-year-old at the time was to land a shot at the full IBF title.

Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) fully unified the division and won the Ring championship when he stopped No. 1 Ring contender Errol Spence Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs) in the ninth round last July 29 in Las Vegas. He was immediately ordered to next face Ennis.

The negotiation period did not come with any talks between camps. Crawford’s side instead informed the IBF that they were contractually tied to a rematch with Spence. Such clauses are not recognized by the IBF, who stripped Crawford of the title.

Ennis won the interim IBF belt via unanimous decision over Karen Chukhadzhian (23-1, 13 KOs) last January 6. He then defeated Roiman Villa (26-3, 24 KOs), No. 10 at 147, via ninth-round stoppage last July 8. The Showtime-headlined bout took place in Atlantic City, an hour or so from Ennis’ hometown.

Matchroom is keen to showcase Ennis in a true Philly homecoming. However, it is unclear as this goes to publication, if this fight will mark that occasion.

Jake Donovan a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JakeNDaBox

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