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Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. faced off in July 2023 on Showtime pay-per-view. Both men entered the matchup undefeated champions, in a battle that fans had wanted to see for years. However, the bout itself was anything but competitive.
On fight night, Crawford knocked down Spence Jr. several times, eventually winning by ninth-round stoppage. Despite the lopsided nature of the bout, the loser activated his rematch clause to run it back.
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Why was Terence Crawford stripped of his IBF title?
In August 2023, the IBF ordered Terence Crawford to fight Jaron Ennis as 'Boots' had held the IBF interim welterweight title since January 2023.
The IBF gave Crawford two a full month to start talks and reach terms on a fight. However, due to Crawford's activated rematch clause with Spence Jr., he has a legal obligation to fight him.
Some sanctioning bodies do allow for a contractual rematch as an exception to a mandatory defense. However, that's not the case for the IBF. As a result, Crawford is no longer the IBF champion.
Ennis was upgraded from being the interim titleholder. He secured the first defense of the full IBF welterweight title by defeating David Avenesyan on July 13.
Terence Crawford stripped: 'Bud' reacts after losing IBF title
It's safe to say that Terence Crawford doesn't mind moving his belt. 'Bud' made history with that knockout win over Errol Spence Jr. in 2023. In the process, he became the division's first-ever four-belt holder and the first undisputed welterweight champion in a long, long time.
Furthermore, Crawford made history as the first male boxer ever to become undisputed in a second weight class. Furthermore, he made it clear that he's not done there and plans to move up and challenge Canelo Alvarez for more gold in near future.
As a result, it appeared that Crawford didn't care too much about the IBF's decision. On X, 'Bud' stated that he is a trendsetter for making history in July and is seemingly more focused on the good times than the bad:
"Before anyone but 2 fighters in the four belt era knew what undisputed looked like. I just showed up like this! #trendsetter"
Despite Spence activating the rematch clause, the second fight against Crawford could not materialize. Spence has challenged newly crowned WBO and WBC light middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora. The fight is scheduled to take place in October. Meanwhile, Crawford is set to challenge WBA super welterweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3.
