Eddie Hearn reveals which of his fighters could lure Terence Crawford out of retirement

Eddie Hearn believes his pound-for-pound star Jaron 'Boots' Ennis possesses the pulling power to lure undisputed great Terence Crawford out of boxing wilderness.

The unbeaten Alabama-native dramatically called time upon his career just a few months after beating Canelo Alvarez to fully unify the super-middleweight division in a blockbuster showdown last September.

Despite an eagerness from the Mexican to secure a rematch, 'Bud' opted to turn down his advances and vacate his belts, before pursuing a potential dust-up with unified middleweight king Janibek Alimkhanuly.

However, Crawford's hopes of landing a crack at the unified 160lbs champion evaporated when the Kazakhstan-born operator failed a drugs test in December, paving the way for the 38-year-old American to officially call time on his career.

Whilst a future U-turn appears unlikely, Matchroom supremo Hearn reckons there is one fighter who could change his mind... 'Boot' Ennis.

"I’ve wanted this fight for so long," the 47-year-old promoter told the Ring Magazine this week.

"I rate Crawford so highly but I’m just such a huge believer in Jaron Ennis, and I think this will be the fight that will be the biggest fight in boxing.

Boots is probably going to fight Josh Kelly and has to see if he can beat him, if he beats him he’ll fight Fundora, and if he becomes undisputed I think the Crawford fight will happen.

- Eddie Hearn (The Ring Magazine)

This isn't the first time that Hearn has lobbied for the fight, with both promoter and fighter having made moves to secure a high-profile clash with Crawford in 2024.

Ennis even went as far as claiming Crawford was avoiding him at the time, with the pair having since clashed on social media and in person; most recently on Saturday night when they were both in attendance at Andy Ruiz's clash with Damian Knyba.

Television cameras caught the two fighters exchanging words ringside, with the drama continuing off air too, where Ennis is believed to have vowed to beat the 42-0 man 'with ease'.

"I know he’s looking at 'Boots' up and down and thinking ‘I’ll do you’, so we’ll see," Hearn added.

"I think it’s an unbelievable fight. Boots is a superstar, he’s paving his way. Crawford is the ultimate competitor, his body is breaking down and maybe he won’t fight again but at the same time he’s the ultimate competitor."