Options abound for Terence Crawford on the road to immortality, but unbeaten KO artist Jaron Ennis may not fit the bill

Terence Crawford hadn't even gotten to the post-fight news conference at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 29 following his one-sided beatdown of previously unbeaten Errol Spence Jr., when the fretting began: What could the new undisputed undisputed super welterweight champion do for an encore.

Surely, after Crawford dropped Spence three times and stopped him in the ninth round of a rout there could be no interest in a rematch. The most logical choice, undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, was three weight classes and 21 pounds heavier. Plus, Alvarez didn't see what facing Crawford would do for his legacy.

There had been some tepid interest in seeing Crawford against undisputed super welterweight champion Jermell Charlo. The two had woofed at each other on social media a bit, but Charlo had a bout upcoming against Alvarez. And after Charlo went down meekly without a fight against Alvarez, any interest in a Crawford-Charlo match was permanently ended.

The other choice was unbeaten Jaron "Boots" Ennis, but Ennis was largely an unknown despite a perfect record and a great knockout percentage. The biggest name on Ennis' mark at that point was a past-his-prime Thomas Dulorme.

It turned out the answer for Crawford came from off the board. On Aug. 3 in Los Angeles, Crawford will face unbeaten Israil Madrimov for two super welterweight belts. Crawford, though, is an overwhelming favorite. At DraftKings sportsbook, Crawford is a -750 favorite, with Madrimov at +500. That's more about the greatness of Crawford than it is about Madrimov, who is a quality fighter.

Still, it's not expected that Crawford will have much issue with Madrimov, which takes us to the original question: What's the next big bout for Crawford?

Well, Ennis stopped David Avanesyan after five rounds on Saturday in Philadelphia to win one of the belts that had been stripped from Crawford. It's not a real title in that Ennis didn't beat the man who won it in the ring and Crawford had done nothing to deserve being stripped, but that belt will hang in Ennis' trophy case forever.

Ennis is clearly one of the best fighters in the world, though he's yet to prove it against a truly elite opponent. He's 32-0 with 29 knockouts after stopping Avanesyan and, predictably, he's thinking big.

"I want the big names; you know, Terence Crawford, anybody else can in that weight who has a big name," Ennis said. "Let’s get it. Let’s make it happen."

The fact promoter Eddie Hearn talked about unifying welterweight belts before going after Crawford is a clear indication he knows Ennis needs to build his resume much more to maximize the bout's revenues.

Ennis is a quality fighter who would give Crawford a run for the money, though from this point of view, it's clear that at this stage, Crawford is a cut above him. From a pure boxing standpoint, Ennis' only real weakness is his level of opposition, but you can't beat the elite unless you are given an opportunity to fight them.

Ennis said he felt "off" in the bout given he'd been off for a year. That year off may prove to be hurtful, though, because Crawford's not going to be around forever. He's going to be 37 in September and if, as expected, he gets past Madrimov on Aug. 3, he's going to be looking up in weight not down.

Crawford has been undisputed champion at super lightweight and welterweight, and he'll become a unified champion at super welterweight if he beats Madrimov. One of Madrimov's belts is an interim title, so that would come with a bit of an asterisk, but Crawford has more than proven himself over the years.

He's now fighting for his place history, a seat in the pantheon of boxing legends. It's not just comparing him to the greats of recent vintage, champions like Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley and others, it's comparing his resume to the best who've ever done it.

Right now, Crawford held a lightweight belt, was undisputed at 140 and 147 and is looking at becoming a unified champ at 154. At that point, what's the value in fighting Ennis, who is in a division he's already conquered and isn't a huge name outside perhaps of his hometown of Philadelphia? Perhaps if Crawford can't get Alvarez after beating Madrimov, he'd look to win all the belts at 154 in something of a modern-day Henry Armstrong feat, or look to move up to fight for a middleweight belt.

Does anything really think Crawford wouldn't be able to defeat Erislandy Lara, who has the WBA middleweight title, right now?

If we assume he beats Madrimov and then goes up and wins a middleweight belt, that makes him a five-division champion. 

You may have heard of the guys who have done that: Thomas Hearns. Sugar Ray Leonard. De La Hoya. Mayweather. Pacquiao. Pretty good fighters, all. If Crawford could join that group, it would be huge for his legacy, and that's all he's fighting for at this point.

Well, that and the multi-million-dollar checks he's sure to receive each time out from this point forward.

Boxing is the most unpredictable of sports, both from an in-ring standpoint and from a business standpoint. And what appears logical to one person is often totally bizarre and lacking logic to another in the business. 

So who knows what's in the future for Crawford other than big money?

If I was Jaron Ennis, though, I wouldn't hold my breath expecting to ever see Crawford across the ring.