Who will Terence Crawford fight next? The Ring Magazine pound-for-pound champion is coming off the hardest fight of his career against Israil Madrimov, which ended with a unanimous decision win for the Omaha resident. Later, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh revealed he was interested in putting together a fight between Crawford and the knockout machine of the light middleweight division, Vergil Ortiz Jr.

Even Jaron Ennis was in the mix as a potential opponent after talks with Canelo Alvarez went down the gutters. Meanwhile, Ortiz Jr. has agreed to face off against Crawford in the future, but his performance against Serhii Bohachuk recently, where he got dropped twice en route to a majority decision win, has cast doubts about his readiness. Regardless, the Saudi Royal recently appeared in a conversation with Charlie Parsons from Stomping Ground and DAZN Boxing to shed light on Crawford’s next fight. 

His Excellency prefers bigger fights than Jaron Ennis

During an X Spaces conversation, Parsons asked the Saudi Royal about the possibility of a fight between Crawford and IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. In response, the Saudi advisor stated, “Great fight but not the top fight we want to see.” Interestingly, Ennis recently signed with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, which has close relations with Alalshikh, so making the fight shouldn’t really be that difficult.

Plus, Ennis has already expressed his desire to step into the ring with Crawford in the past. Nonetheless, His Excellency claimed Crawford, “will fight anyone except Canelo…” This follows a public back and forth between Canelo and Turki Alalshikh, who criticized Canelo for ducking fights against tougher opponents by demanding unrealistic amounts of money. 

His Excellency even added, “We give [Crawford an] offer for [Vergil] Ortiz, I don’t know if he’ll take it or not.” Despite this, the Saudi Royal suggested that if Crawford refuses to face Ortiz Jr., there’s something big in the making for Ortiz Jr. His last bout against Bohachuk was the first of its kind since Oscar De La Hoya signed a partnership with Riyadh Season to make the biggest fights possible. 

It’s likely that if His Excellency offers Ortiz Jr. a deal for a fight, it will transpire in the confines of Oscar and Alalshikh’s partnership. Meanwhile, the new WBC interim super welterweight champion is being advised to avoid Crawford at all costs.

Jeff Mayweather feels Terence Crawford is a better fighter

According to talkSport, Jeff Mayweather recently weighed in on a possible fight between Terence Crawford and Vergil Ortiz Jr., saying Ortiz might not be quite ready for that level of competition yet. “I think Crawford is on a totally different level [than Ortiz],” Mayweather pointed out, adding that Crawford is “much better than both of those guys [Ortiz and Bohachuk]” after seeing Ortiz barely edge out a win over Serhii Bohachuk.

Mayweather also suggested that a rematch with Bohachuk could be good for Ortiz, saying, “A rematch will help him [Vergil] too.” Despite that, Ortiz’s trainer, Robert Garcia, is still holding out hope for a fight with Crawford, stating, “That’s the fight that we would like,” and adding that if Crawford isn’t available, a Bohachuk rematch might be a solid backup. 

Having said that, the whole situation is still up in the air as Crawford figures out his next moves and potential opponents. Adding to this, His Excellency Turki Alalshik has further shed light on Crawford’s possible next steps. Don’t forget, he also has the option of facing the winner of Errol Spence Jr. vs. Sebastian Fundora to unify the division titles, which is rumored to happen later this year. Who would you want Crawford to fight next?