Terence Crawford turns down two-fight deal with Conor McGregor, saying he is not interested in Octagon Combat

By Moses Ochieng

Undefeated boxer Terence Crawford revealed he turned down a two-fight deal with Conor McGregor because he had no interest in stepping into the Octagon. Crawford said he spoke to McGregor on the phone and explained to him that he had no desire to participate because of the risk of being kicked or elbowed. Despite McGregor's attempts to convince him by highlighting the potential for huge earnings, Crawford remained uninterested.

McGregor, 36, is no stranger to crossover events, having brought Floyd Mayweather fame in 2017. Despite losing via 10th round TKO, McGregor reportedly earned over $100 million. The fight generated $55.5 million in live box office and 4.3 million pay-per-view buys, the second-highest in boxing history. McGregor hasn't fought in MMA since 2021, losing his last two matches and not having a win since 2020.

Widely considered one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, 37-year-old Terence Crawford recently secured a narrow 12-round unanimous decision victory over WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3rd. In his 154-pound debut, Crawford struggled to impress as he showed signs of aging, decreased strength and ring rust. The victory was largely due to Madrimov's passive approach in the later rounds, which allowed Crawford to assert himself out of the fight.

“They offered me the fight and Conor and I spoke on the phone. I just told him, 'I'm not going to do the octagon with you, so you can kick me and elbow me,'” Terence Crawford said in an interview with Bernie Tha Boxer.

This is another example of Crawford showing a lack of ambition, as a fight against McGregor would likely earn him more money than his next potential fight, which is against WBC and WBO junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora could.

“He just laughed and said, 'Man, I respect that.' But we would make a lot of money.' Sometimes it's not about the money. I can make money, but you’re not going to kick me out, dude,” Crawford added.

McGregor is a shrewd businessman who is always looking to pick fights with different opponents. In the Octagon, Crawford wouldn't have a chance unless he managed a knockout before getting kicked or knocked down. Once McGregor was down, Crawford's extensive knowledge of submission holds would make it nearly impossible to recover.

Although Crawford has some experience in wrestling, he knows that getting into a sport that involves leg kicks isn't a good idea, especially after 37 years of no training in defending against leg kicks.

Although McGregor's popularity has waned, a fight between him and Crawford would still bring in significant revenue thanks to their large fan base.