Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has highlighted the two ‘dream fights’ that he would love to make as soon as possible.

At present, Naoya Inoue is deemed by many to be the pound-for-pound king, following the retirement of Terence Crawford and the decline of Oleksandr Usyk, who is set to hang up the gloves himself after one more fight, which could come against Deontay Wilder.

Whilst speaking on the Fight Your Corner podcast, Hearn revealed dream fights that involve both Inoue and Crawford, stating that he would love for his fighters Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis to meet Inoue and Crawford in order to climb the pound-for-pound ratings next year.

“My dream fight right now is Bam against Inoue. Number one vs. Number Two. Also, I would love to see Boots [Ennis] fight Crawford.”

Hearn may get one of his wishes, as at present, it seems highly likely that Inoue and Rodriguez will collide, with the Japanese sensation content to sit on the sidelines and allow the Texan to have one more bantamweight outing – rumoured to be a title unification against Christian Medina – before their proposed meeting in the spring. 

As for the possible match-up between ‘Boots’ and Crawford, despite continuous call-outs from Ennis, ‘Bud’ appears uninterested in a return to the sport following his retirement last December after his victory over Canelo Alvarez three months earlier.

Instead, should WBA and WBO 154lb champion Ennis seek to move into contention as the pound-for-pound king, the undisputed super-welterweight title must be captured – and it is well within his reach, with a bout against IBF champion Josh Kelly expected to come next.