Terence Crawford Still Wants a McGregor Fight
A number of months back, legendary promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank threw the boxing world a major curveball. He did so by saying that his pound for pound and WBO world welterweight champion fighter Terence “Bud” Crawford (36-0, 27 KO’s) was open to pursuing a fight with UFC megastar “The Notorious” Conor McGregor. Not only was Arum himself open to the idea, he was adamant that Crawford had an excellent chance of winning in the octagon.
READY TO RUMBLE IN THE ROPES, CAGE OR BACK ALLEY
The news struck the ears of hardcore boxing fans in jarring fashion. Prior to the bombshell reveal, neither Arum nor Crawford ever displayed the slightest bit of interest in storming the UFC market. Yet, whether talked about or not, Bob Arum assured that with Bud’s solid background in wrestling, he had more than a puncher’s chance in the realm of the cage.
Since the initial story broke, nothing much more has come of the topic. Well that was until Bud conducted an exclusive interview with Fight Hub TV. When questioned anew about a potential cross-over bout, Crawford doubled-down on his desire to take it to McGregor in his own backyard. As he is known to do, in his trademark laidback fashion, Bud assured that it was simply a matter of making it make financial sense for all parties involved.
“Sure, like I said, if they put the money up, give me enough time to train and everything else would be selling…it’s a fight, ain’t nothing wrong with a fight. If they can come over here and make 100 million dollars in the ring, why can’t I go over there and make 100 million dollars in the octagon? So if it makes sense, for sure I would do it.”
ONLY NEED TIME TO PREPARE
While there is no question that Crawford is full of self-belief that he can emerge victorious in the cage, he is not foolhardy enough to believe that he will do it the day after tomorrow. The savvy boxer, itching to turn mixed martial-artist, understands that he first must adapt to the new dangers and perils that exist in MMA but not in boxing.
[On how long his MMA preparation time would take] “I wouldn’t know, we would have to sit down and map it out you know? But for sure I would have to go out there and focus on the MMA aspect because it is different. I have a lot of friends that does MMA and its different, its real different.”
“You got the kicks, so an ordinary boxing stance wouldn’t work in the MMA ring because they can grab you and they can kick you! So you would have to be ready for everything.”
A FIGHTS A FIGHT
For the fans, this comes off like an unnecessary risk for one of the finest pugilists of our era, but for Bud it’s just another avenue to display his greatness as an elite level fighter.
“At the end of the day, I know how to fight. You know, outside of boxing I really know how to fight, so it really would be no different. The only thing different that I would have to worry about is the kicks, that’s it. Take the kicks out and I wouldn’t have to do nothing but train and make sure I’m in shape.”
Yet, if you somehow missed the fact that Crawford thinks very highly of his skill, he left with this little tidbit.
“In my eyes I feel like I am the best athlete in the world. I can play football, I could play basketball, I can wrestle, I can box, I can play baseball, you know I can skate, I can do volleyball, I can do Frisbee, you know I can just do so many things. That’s why I think I’m one of the best athletes in the world.”
By: Bakari Simpson
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