The World Boxing Organization has ordered Welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford to a mandatory defense of his WBO title against the #1 contender in their rankings, Alexis Rocha. With Crawford coming off a voluntary defense against David Avanesyan after talks collapsed between him and unified Welterweight champion Errol Spence, he is now set to continue his reign as champion against a young contender who is eager to test his mettle against the former Junior Welterweight undisputed champion.
On February 27th, the WBO issued a notice to the teams of both fighters to enter negotiations for a title bout. The teams have until Sunday, March 19, to settle an agreement. If a deal is not reached before the allotted time, the fight will go to purse bids which will make it a free-for-all when it comes to who promotes the fight.
Though fans are still secretly hoping for an undisputed clash between Terence Crawford (39-0, 30 KO’s) and Errol Spence Jr. (28-0, 22 KO’s), Crawford will be tested in the meantime against an opponent who, at 25 years of age, is eager and hungry to prove himself. Signed to Golden Boy Promotions, the same promotion stable that promotes the even more talented Vergil Ortiz Jr. (19-0, 19 KO’s) – who is set to earn a chance to become the WBA ‘Regular’ champion against Eimantas Stanionis (14-0, 9 KO’s) – has only one loss on his record, a courtesy of American prospect Rashidi Ellis (24-1, 15 KO’s). The two are currently set to face each other on April 29th.
Though not as widely known as Ortiz, Alexis Rocha (22-1, 14 KO’s) has carved out his own dedicated career by beating prevalent mid-tier fighters such as Blair Cobbs (16-1-1, 10 KO’s). He is best known for his tendency to fight on the inside and swarm opponents with uppercuts and hooks, and recently produced a highlight reel KO with his victory over Cobbs.
Terence Crawford, still a free agent, has already been approached by Golden Boy who seek to sign him to their stable in a bid to add a pound-for-pound fighter to their promotion. A match with one of their fighters can potentially help the promotion to land the 35-year old fighter, especially if Crawford proves to be successful in his match with Rocha.
One likely incentive for both parties to get into bed with each other would be the prospect of an undisputed fight with Errol Spence. Golden Boy has long had successful relationships with Spence’s promoter, PBC, and they might seek to capitalize on Crawford’s reputation and ability which could lead him to become undisputed in an eventual fight with Spence. Having left longtime promotion Top Rank in 2022, Crawford might seek another partnership with a promotion after failing to land a fight with Spence since he first moved up to Welterweight in 2018 while contracted to Top Rank, and as a free agent.
Since making his professional debut in 2008 after a short but nonetheless impressive career that saw him fight seventy times and lose twelve, Crawford turned into one of the best boxers of his generation and accumulated a host of accolades and awards for his performances in the ring. Even at 35, Crawford is still considered one of the best fighters on the planet. Despite Alexis Rocha’s relative inexperience compared to Crawford, he will still provide a worthy challenge to a boxer that has already achieved more than most boxers, and seems no less prepared to continue on track to make history in the sport and cement himself as one of the greatest of his era.
With Alexis Rocha still being suspended by the California State Athletic Commission until the end of March and the month already approaching, the fight will likely be set in the summer of this year if contract negotiations have successfully been completed.
