Terence Crawford’s first chance at a monstrous payday came from an unlikely source.
‘Bud’ beat Canelo Alvarez in a fight that reportedly earned him $50 million on Saturday night.
Terence Crawford was offered even more than that for a two-bout deal to face Conor McGregor.
Last September, it was proposed that they first fight in MMA before rematching in a boxing ring.
Why Terence Crawford refused to fight Conor McGregor
Terence Crawford has the wrestling skills to make a fight with Conor McGregor interesting.
The 37-year-old is from a family of grapplers, and he trained in the sport before focusing on boxing.
Ultimately, Crawford walked away from the $200 million deal for a very simple and understandable reason.
The best boxer on the planet had absolutely no interest in being kicked by MMA’s greatest legend.
“I told Conor to himself, I said, ‘Hell no’. They called me, they offered me the fight, and me and Conor got on the phone and we started politicking, you know, trying to figure something out,” Crawford said at the time.
“And I just told him, ‘Man, I’m not getting in no f—ing Octagon with you so you can be kicking me and elbowing me and s—’. He starts laughing and s— and he’s like, ‘Man, I respect that because you respect my sport, like I respect your sport, if you get in the Octagon with me, you’re gonna be at a disadvantage, just like if I get in the boxing ring with you, I’m at a disadvantage’.
“But he was like, ‘We’ll make a s— ton of money’. I said, ‘Yeah, sometimes it ain’t about the money’. I can make money, but you ain’t about to start kicking me, dude, them kicks and elbows ain’t no joke.”
Terence Crawford called out by another UFC star
Ilia Topuria is the latest MMA fighter to try to secure a fight with Terence Crawford.
The reigning UFC lightweight champion is not interested in bringing ‘Bud’ into MMA.
Topuria hopes to cross over to boxing and test his power on Crawford’s chin in 2026.
The two men have been going back and forth on social media during the past week.
It seems unlikely that Dana White would allow one of his biggest stars to switch sports.
Money talks, though, so the UFC CEO could be convinced to make Crawford vs. Topuria.