Terence Crawford explains why he turned down a match against Conor McGregor in MMA | Sports

Boxing champion Terence Crawford had the chance to take part in a large crossover struggle against Conor McGregor.

Crawford (40-0), a four-weight world champion in boxing, presently holds the WBA and interim WBO tremendous welterweight titles. Former UFC light-weight champion McGregor (0-1) might have been on his resume, as he revealed there have been as soon as talks with the Irish MMA celebrity.

Rumors of a two-fight take care of McGregor, one boxing bout and one MMA struggle, had been lately floating round. Crawford acknowledged there have been conversations immediately with McGregor about making the fights come collectively, however he determined to show down the supply.

While Crawford didn’t reveal when these conversations passed off, he defined why he received’t compete in MMA.

“I told Conor to himself; I said, ‘Hell naw,'” Crawford informed Bernie Tha Boxer on a YouTube reside stream. “They referred to as me, they provided me the struggle. Me and Conor obtained on the telephone; we began politicking, , attempting to determine one thing out.

“I just told him, ‘Man, I’m not getting in no f*cking octagon with you so you can be kicking me and elbowing me and sh*t.’ And so, he gets to laughing and sh*t. He’s like, ‘Man, I respect that because you respect my sport just like I respect your sport, and you understand that if you get in the octagon with me, you’re going to be at a disadvantage. Just like if I get in the boxing ring with you, I’m going to be at a disadvantage.'”

Even although “The Notorious” McGregor, 36, understood the bodily causes for turning down the struggle, Crawford, 37, mentioned the Irishman tried to attraction to his checking account.

“He was like, ‘But we’ll make a sh*t ton of money!'” Crawford mentioned laughing, recalling what McGregor added. “I said, ‘Yeah, sometimes it ain’t about the money.’ I can make money, but you ain’t about to be kicking me, dude. Them kicks and elbows, that sh*t ain’t no joke.”

Crawford is doing very effectively monetarily in the boxing world. If all events had been on board, a crossover struggle with McGregor would have been large enterprise. Floyd Mayweather boxed McGregor in 2017, which proved to be a profitable occasion for all concerned, however Crawford would quite give attention to his boxing legacy than combine in a one-off MMA struggle.

Crawford is coming off a profitable outing against Israil Madrimov in August. He needs to struggle Canelo Alvarez, however negotiations haven’t produced any traction. His subsequent struggle in the ring could also be against Sebastian Fundora, which might give Crawford the chance to seize three of the 4 154-pound titles.

McGregor hasn’t competed in any fight sport since July 2021 at UFC 264, the place he broke his leg in a first-round TKO loss to Dustin Poirier. Despite teaching reverse Michael Chandler on “The Ultimate Fighter” and saying he needs to return to motion, there isn't any indication of when or the place McGregor will struggle subsequent, if ever once more.