Recent reports from BoxingScene have revealed that American IBF welterweight champion Jaron Ennis and Canadian contender Cody Crowley have been ordered to face each other. With the IBF refusing to release any public statement regarding these developments, almost three weeks have passed since the IBF ordered the two parties to start negotiations on January 31st―with the deadline for these negotiations will expire on March 1st.

Candian 147 lbs contender Cody Crowley (22-0, 9 KO’s) is currently considered the best available contender on the IBF’s welterweight rankings with his position at #3―with the two spots above him currently left vacant. Crowley is also considered the #1-ranked WBC welterweight contender, though the WBC has yet to order him to face anyone since he won a title eliminator against Abel Ramos (27-6-2, 21 KO’s) on March 25th.

Crowley had previously been expected to face Mario Barrios (28-2, 18 KO’s) who defeated Yordenis Urgas (27-6, 12 KO’s) to become the WBC interim welterweight champion, but the WBC’s idleness has now caused the IBF to spring in with their decision to see Crowley and IBF champion Jaron Ennis (31-0, 28 KO’s) in the ring.

Jaron “Boots” Ennis became a champion on November 28th after being promoted from interim champion in a move that saw the previous holder, Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KO’s, stripped of the IBF title. Since then, the IBF had been recently quiet when it came to substantiating on whether Ennis would be allowed a voluntary fight―or be ordered to compete in a mandatory fight, but it now appears that the IBF has made their decision.

Aside from ordering the match between Ennis and Crowley, the IBF has additionally ruled that Ennis has until March 28th to defend his title; an irregular decision considering first-time mandatory obligations are often set to be made within six months. With Ennis being regarded as a the full champion since late November, he would normally have a further two months to make a mandatory title defense.

Ennis’ lawsuit against his promoter, NOW Boxing, and the short span of time in which he should defend his title, further complicates the IBF’s mandate. With Ennis having no representation in regards to promotional outfits , it is expected that TGB Promotions and PBC―to whom Crowley has been signed to since 2020―will stage the fight if the two fighters’ teams manage to strike a deal. If not, the fight will go t purse bid proceedings which will still make it a high probability of PBC and TGB Promotions hosting a fight between Ennis and Crowley.

Jaron Ennis himself is not unfamiliar with PBC, having fought on its shows during 2023, and having been mistaken to be a PBC fighter due to his association with them. However, Cody Crowley had allegedly rejected a fight Ennis last year to further complicate the IBF’s most recent mandate.

“We was supposed to fight Cody Crowley because he was next in line after [Roman] Villa for the IBF,” Bozy Ennis, Jaron Ennis’ father and head trainer, explained.

“Cody was like number two or three, so he done moved up, so he’s the number one guy now, so that’s who we wanted and he said he would fight us.

“But as we got closer to the fight, he just said he’s not ready now.“

If Crowley opts to refuse the mandatory fight against Ennis, he will be dropped from the top 10 IBF rankings for six months, and the IBF will look towards the next available contender; most likely the #4-rated Giovani Santillan (32-0, 17 KO’s) who is ranked the #1 welterweight contender according to the WBO.

Santillan’s #1 ranking by the WBO might not play a significant role as the WBO has also not yet ordered Santillan to face the holder of the WBO 147-pound title, Terence Crawford; though it should be noted Crawford is a WBO ‘special champion’ which provides him with a number of benefits, including being able to extend his mandatory defense obligation for a lengthy period of time.

Ultimately, while there does seem to be a fight set for both Ennis and Crowley, it is still unknown whether either of the two fighters are capable of participating in their contest due to their own individual circumstances.