Andreas Hale, ESPN
Boxing famous person Terence Crawford mentioned Wednesday he rejected a deal to battle UFC nice Conor McGregor as a result of he did not wish to take part in a combined martial arts battle.
In separate interviews, Crawford and McGregor revealed that Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, had supplied them a two-fight settlement, with one in boxing and the opposite in MMA. McGregor mentioned they'd have been paid “hundreds of millions.”
But whereas McGregor was able to compete in each sports activities, Crawford declined.
“They offered me the fight,” the four-division champion mentioned in an interview with Bernie Tha Boxer. “Me and Conor got on the phone and started politicking to try and figure something out. Man, I'm not getting in no f—ing Octagon with you so you can be kicking and elbowing me!”
McGregor, 36, isn't any stranger to crossover fights. In 2017, the previous two-division UFC champion boxed Floyd Mayweather. McGregor misplaced by Tenth-round TKO, however reportedly earned north of $100 million. The battle in Las Vegas registered a reside gate of $55.5 million and bought 4.3 million pay-per view buys, each second all time in boxing historical past.
The undefeated Crawford, 37, is arguably the perfect pound-for-pound boxer on the planet and is considered one of three boxers to carry all 4 main world titles concurrently in two completely different weight courses.
But Crawford hasn't competed in MMA, and though he has a background in wrestling, he mentioned he would favor to maintain his fights inside a boxing ring.
“He was like, ‘I respect that,'” Crawford mentioned of McGregor's response to him rejecting the battle. “‘You respect my sport just like I respect your sport. You understand that if you got in the Octagon with me, you would be at a disadvantage. Just like if I got in a boxing ring with you, I'd be at a disadvantage.'”
McGregor corroborated the story throughout a reside stream with Duelbits.
“[I told Crawford] They are asking for a fight,” McGregor mentioned. “It's going to be hundreds of millions on the line. What's up? He said, ‘I don't want to take a kick.' You got to respect that.”
Although McGregor mentioned he harbored no sick will towards Crawford for the choice, he made certain to inform him what he left on the desk.
“We would have made a s— ton of money,” Crawford mentioned, referring to what McGregor instructed him.
McGregor is recovering from a toe damage that delayed his extremely anticipated return to the Octagon in opposition to Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June. It's not identified who his opponent will probably be when he ends his four-plus-year hiatus from MMA.
Crawford is coming off a unanimous determination victory over Israil Madrimov in August. He has been concentrating on an enormous showdown with Canelo Alvarez, however no deal has been made for that battle.
