Terence Crawford turns down a two-fight matchup against Conor McGregor

Boxing superstar Terence Crawford said Wednesday he turned down a deal against UFC star Conor McGregor because he didn't want to take part in a mixed martial arts fight.

In separate interviews, Crawford and McGregor revealed that Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, had offered them a two-fight contract, one in boxing and one in MMA. McGregor said they received “hundreds of millions.”

But while McGregor was willing to compete in both sports, Crawford declined.

“They offered me the fight,” the four-division champion said in an interview with Bernie Tha Boxer. “Me and Conor got on the phone and started playing politics to find out something. Man, I’m not going to get involved with you on Octagon so you can kick and elbow me!”

The 36-year-old McGregor is no stranger to crossover fights. In 2017, former two-division UFC champion Floyd Mayweather boxed. McGregor lost by 10th round TKO but reportedly earned more than $100 million. The Las Vegas fight grossed $55.5 million live and sold 4.3 million pay-per-view buys, both second-best all-time in boxing history.

The unbeaten Crawford, 37, is arguably the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world and one of three boxers to hold all four major world titles simultaneously in two different weight classes.

But Crawford has not competed in MMA and although he has a background in wrestling, he said he would prefer to have his fights in a boxing ring.

“He said, 'I respect that,'” Crawford said of McGregor's reaction to his rejection of the fight. “‘You respect my sport just like I respect your sport. You understand that if you came into the Octagon with me, you would be at a disadvantage.'”

McGregor confirmed the story during a livestream with Duelbits.

“[I told Crawford] “They demand a fight,” McGregor said. “There will be hundreds of millions at stake.” What’s going on? He said: “I don’t want to get kicked.” You have to respect that.

Although McGregor said he bore no ill will to Crawford over the decision, he made sure to let him know what he still had on the table.

“We would have made a lot of money,” Crawford said, referring to what McGregor told him.

McGregor is recovering from a toe injury that delayed his highly anticipated return to the Octagon against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June. It is unknown who his opponent will be when he ends his four-plus year hiatus from MMA.

Crawford earned a unanimous decision victory over Israil Madrimov in August. He has been targeting a massive showdown with Canelo Alvarez, but no deal has been made for that fight yet.