Terence Crawford isn’t desperate. He’s earned enough in his boxing career to say no to some offers, and that’s what he did when he was offered a wild two-fight deal with Conor McGregor.
Crawford discussed his conversation with McGregor during a video with YouTuber Bernie the Boxer.
The offer would have had Crawford meet McGregor for one fight in the boxing ring and another in the UFC’s Octagon.
“They offered me the fight, and me and Conor got on the phone,” Crawford said. “I just told him, ‘I’m not getting in no f*****g Octagon with you so you can be kicking me and elbowing me and s***.’ He was just laughing and was like, ‘Man, I respect that. But we’d make a s*** ton of money.’ Sometimes it ain’t about the money. I can make money, but you ain’t about to be kicking me, dude.”
According to McGregor, the deal would be for $200 million, $100 million per fight. If done in association with the launch of Dana White’s new boxing deal, it’s easy to see how those numbers are valid estimations.
That’s especially the case if Turki Alalshikh of Riyadh Season gets involved to help facilitate the dream fight. Crawford has a minor wrestling background, and McGregor has never been a fighter who looks to take opponents down. However, as Crawford mentioned, he must be prepared for kicks, elbows, knees, and shoulder thrusts in the Octagon. Likewise, Bud would have a massive advantage in the boxing ring.
Despite the enormous advantages of each man’s primary sport, there is no question there would be huge interest. This talk of a dream fight doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as both combat sports icons appear to be in a holding pattern.
Crawford wants to fight Canelo Alvarez at 168 pounds, but the latter doesn’t seem too keen on the idea. Crawford could take fights against the likes of Sebastian Fundora or Jaron “Boots” Ennis, but having just turned 37 at the end of September, the boxing legend is being very selective about his opponents.
As is the case with Canelo, it may take an excessive amount of money for both men to agree to fight. McGregor has two fights remaining on his contract with the UFC. He has expressed an interest in pursuing crossover fights like his one with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017.
McGregor has also discussed having a bare-knuckle boxing match in BKFC, where he is part-owner. After pulling out of his June fight date against Michael Chandler and with the latter signing to fight Charles Oliveira in November, McGregor is in limbo.
Even if Crawford had agreed to the proposal, the two fights would have needed the UFC sign-off to take place. If McGregor ever returns and is able to fight out his UFC contract, he’ll almost certainly explore his options in other areas of combat sports. It doesn’t appear he’ll be doing it against Crawford for now.