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

Boxing superstar Terence Crawford said Wednesday he turned down a deal to fight UFC great Conor McGregor because he did not want to participate 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 deal, one in boxing and the other in MMA. McGregor said they would have paid ‘hundreds of millions’.

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

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

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

The undefeated Crawford, 37, is arguably the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world and is 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 keep his fights inside a boxing ring.

“He said, ‘I respect that,’” Crawford said of McGregor’s reaction to turning down the fight. “You respect my sport just like I respect your sport. You understand that if you were to step into the Octagon with me, I would be at a disadvantage. Just like if I were to step into a boxing ring with you, I would be at a disadvantage. ‘”

McGregor confirmed the story during a livestream with Duelbits.

“(I told Crawford) They’re asking for a fight,” McGregor said. “There’s hundreds of millions at stake. What’s going on? He said, ‘I don’t want to take a shovel.’ You have to respect that.”

While McGregor said he harbored no ill will toward Crawford for the decision, he made sure to tell him what he left 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 long-awaited 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-year hiatus from MMA.

Crawford is coming off a unanimous victory over Israil Madrimov in August. He is targeting a huge showdown with Canelo Alvarez, but no deal has been made for that fight yet.