ESPN’s number #1 pound for pound King, Terence Crawford is wanting to opt-out of his Top Rank contract. Crawford just won his fight last week against Kell Brook via TKO in under 4 rounds. He retained his WBO welterweight title.
During the post-fight interview, Crawford said that he wants Manny Pacquiao as his next opponent. Manny Pacquiao holds the WBA welterweight title, so both fighters can unify two titles which Crawford is looking to seek. Fighting Manny Pacquiao also guarantees big PPV money as he is probably the most famous boxer in the division.
Crawford has shown no interest in fighting against Errol Spence Jr. He indicated that he is focused on getting the Pacquiao fight. According to Crawford, Spence is asking for a price that is too much and wants a bigger percentage for the fight to happen. It is a shame since both fighters are at their peak and tip-top shape right now.
It is pretty ironic since there is a video on youtube that both fighters teasing each other about fighting. Bob Arum, Spence’s team, and Crawford’s team were also there jokingly saying to sign the contract. Both of them teasing, to not keep ducking each other and their signature moves won’t work against each other.
The Pacquiao fight is the one that Crawford wants and is willing to get a 50/50 share with the Filipino boxer. The target is for 2021 to happen but Pacquiao has not yet announced anything. Pacquiao is a senator in the Philippines and is focusing on helping the community at the moment.
With Manny Pacquiao, he has many options on who to fight. He could get the money fight with Conor McGregor (as of this moment Mcgregor is scheduled to fight Dustin Poirier). Mikey Garcia has also shown interest in fighting Pacquiao, it will be a classic Pacquaio vs Mexican fight.
The Terence Crawford and Bob Arum feud started when Arum indicated that he lost money in promoting Crawford. He said that Crawford is not like his former boxing stars that promote themselves in establishing the brand. Mayweather and Pacquaio may be the biggest names that Bob Arum had but both boxers have their own promotions now.
Arum said that he could have built a nice house in Beverly Hills with the money he lost in promoting the boxer. He said that Crawford is a great boxer but that is not enough to run a business. No matter how good Crawford is but no one is watching, it would still bankrupt or lose money. That is the rant of Bob Arum.
The biggest mistake for Bob Arum is that he is trashing his own boxers publicly, destroying his name. It would have been better had he told Crawford personally and not let the public know about the problems. Now Crawford wants out of his contract and fights other promoters that will promote him with respect.
UFC Promoter, Dana White also had his take on this in a press conference. He told Bob Arum that he is a piece of (expletive) and that he hates Bob Arum. “Pay the fighters” is what he said. He also said that what Bob Arum said about the Beverly Hills money is showing how disrespectful he is towards his fighters. It is worth noting that Eddie Hearn is also interested in getting Crawford.
