This era of boxing, like most of them, has upsides and downsides to it. But the upside/downside dynamic which applies to a Terence Crawford is a sticky one.
The separation of platforms and promotional firms can mean that a guy like a Crawford finds himself in a weight class where there isn’t as much action on his side of the street as on the other side of the street. And that is a considerable downside to a fierce competitor like “Bud.”
Probably the primary upside for a Crawford, however, has to be the pay scaling for A-side, A-grade boxers. He’s been paid quite handsomely while part of the Top Rank family, and for some fights that on paper weren’t seen as massively risky. The way they played out matched the on-paper assessment, as Crawford made juicy bank for fighting the likes of John Molina Jr, Julius Indongo, Felix Diaz, and Jose Benavidez Jr.
“Sometimes it concerns me, but at the same time I don’t try to worry about those type of fights that are not getting made,” said Crawford, who faces Kell Brook Saturday (ESPN, 10 pm ET).
“I feel like I’ve already put my stamp down in the history books and my legacy will live on no matter what, if I get those big fights or not. Given all those things that I’ve accomplished in the sport of boxing as a whole. Do I want those fights that everybody calling for? Yes, I’ve been calling for those fights before I was even (at) 147.”
Call-outs and discussions and entreaties have occurred for years and years.
“I hit up Bob Arum and Todd duBoef and I said offer Keith Thurman the fight, I don’t even want to fight Kell Brook, offer Keith Thurman the fight,” the Nebraskan told the Showtime host. “They come back and said that fight will never happen. I said why, they said he wants 10 million dollars! He asked for 10 million dollars when he only got two million for Pacquiao. Keith knows what he’s doing, he’s going to do all that talk and behind closed doors, he’s going to out price himself. That way he can make it seem that we didn’t send the contract.”
