Having retired from the sport, Terence Crawford looks unlikely to ever make a comeback, but ‘Bud’ has now been warned that he will lose his undefeated record if he does opt to make a return and take on one unified world champion.

Crawford hung up the gloves after a legacy-defining victory over Canelo Alvarez, walking away from the sport with his undefeated record intact and as the only three-division undisputed world champion of the four-belt era.

Nevertheless, the Omaha-born icon continues to be linked to a lucrative rematch with Canelo, as well as a potential scrap with newly-crowned unified super-welterweight world champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, who dethroned WBA and WBO titleholder Xander Zayas last month.

Crawford was somewhat critical of that Ennis performance, insinuating that he would have had little issue dispatching of the Philadelphian.

Ennis has now responded during an interview with The Pivot Podcast, saying he believes Crawford has little genuine interest in a fight that could derail what both he and ‘Bud’ have described as the ‘Boots’ era.

“For sure, [that is a fight that I want] but he has retired. Yeah, he is talking, but he is retired. He isn’t saying, ‘do you want to fight?’, he is retired so let him enjoy his retirement. Like he said, ‘this is the Boots era,’ he said it himself.

“A couple of my homies sent it to me, ‘it is the Boots era,’ he knows. It’s different over here. 

“It is definitely a big fight if he was to return, but if he returns I’ll beat him, but then they [the fans] are going to be like, ‘oh, he was old,’. There is always going to be something.” 

Ennis is expected to continue his surge towards the undisputed 154lb world title in his next fight, with a showdown with IBF world champion and fellow Matchroom fighter Josh Kelly being suggested for later in the year.