WBO Orders Terence Crawford to Begin Negotiations with Alexis Rocha
A fight boxing fans knew was going to happen will be taking place. WBO welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford (39-0, 30KO) and number-one contender Alexis “Lex” Rocha (22-1, 14KO) have been ordered to begin negotiations.
RELATED: Alexis Rocha: “I Want Crawford Next; I’m Ranked Number One”
Before the ordering, Golden Boy Promotions’ Oscar De La Hoya revealed he spoke to Bud about future endeavors. He also wants to set up a few fights for Crawford in hopes of securing the showdown against unified champion Errol Spence Jr.
THE WBO
The WBO gave the usual spiel about a timeframe to make the fight before summoning a purse bid.
“Please be advised that the parties herein have twenty days upon issuance of this notice to negotiate and reach an agreement for the above-referenced WBO welterweight mandatory championship contest.”
“If an accord is not reached within the timeframe stated herein, a purse bid will be ordered per the WBO regulations of world championship contests.”
Letter from the WBO
Rocha is riding a six-fight win streak, including a seventh-round stoppage over late replacement George Ashie on January 28. Following the victory, he wasted no time calling out Crawford for a fight. Keep in mind, this call-out capped off a night where both De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins were dropping hints of a possible Rocha versus Crawford showdown.
Crawford was last seen in the ring taking apart fringe contender David Avanesyan in a six-round stoppage in December 2022. Undoubtedly Golden Boy Promotions was already working on a deal in the background. The WBO ordering the fight was just the icing on a cake that was ready to be served.
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