This was before the Spence fight.
Crawford is asking why Boots didn't challenge "under my sanctioning body" (WBO) and why Boots lobbied under IBF instead.
Boots was asking why Crawford chose Avanesyan instead of choosing him. (Avanesyan was a WBO mandatory).
What we do know, is that Boots was ranked in WBO - which is why they were offered the fight on BLK Prime for Crawford's title, which Boots' camp rejected if Showtime were not involved (money).
If Crawford had taken the Boots fight, WBO might have stripped him for not fighting Avanesyan (doubtful), but WBO as far as I'm aware didn't have an "interim" champion, which means it would have been vacated. Which would have opened up for Spence to swoop in and take it against next on deck - likely Cody Crowley, who was already highly ranked on Spence's other belts and WBO anyway. Perhaps that's why Crawford played hardball to fight Avanesyan to get the mandatory out of the way before fighting Spence so that it remained a fight for undisputed.
So maybe Boots is smarter than he's getting credit for, and he knew that no matter what, either guy would have their hand forced eventually if he won the IBF interim because he knew that IBF would force the issue. Maybe the "Showtime" excuse was used as leverage to try and win one in the ring, while in the back pocket is at least one title essentially guaranteed down the line.