The reason is a contractual rematch against Spence instead of a mandatory defense against Ennis.
International Boxing Federation (IBF) officially stripped American boxer of world welterweight title Terence Crawford.
The reason for this decision was the failure to comply with the obligation to defend the championship belt against the designated challenger, Jaron Ennis. The latter was declared the interim holder of the IBF champion title in this category.
In late August, the organization ordered Crawford to begin negotiations with Ennis as the mandatory challenger. However, in September, Terence’s representative notified the IBF that the boxer was forced to withdraw due to a rematch against former world champion Errol Spence stipulated in his contract.
The first fight between Crawford and Spence took place at the end of July. In the ninth round, the referee decided to stop the fight, giving an early victory to Terence. Errol immediately stated that he hoped for a rematch in December.
At the end of the summer, Spence activated the rematch option against Crawford. This fight is scheduled for February 2024.
36-year-old Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs), due to the announced decision, ceased to be the absolute world welterweight champion. Terence remained the holder of the WBO, WBA and WBC belts.
Terence Crawford was recognized as the best boxer regardless of weight category according to The Ring, BoxRec and ESPN.. Previously, the first place in the personal P4P ranking was given to Crawford by WBO/WBA/IBF/IBO world champion Alexander Usyk.
Source: Sportarena
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