Bigblackted4
Superstar
They just following the UFC model. They’ve done like 3 already and got more to come PPV wise. Also in order to get the fighters paid somebody has to pay.
Essential The Official Boxing Random Thoughts Thread...All boxing heads ENTER.
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malbaker86
Gators
Crawford:"These Are Difficult Fights I'm Taking"
Terence Crawford says there are misconceptions attached to him, and the unbeaten, three-division world champion is intent to clarify them all.
As his planned Nov. 14 welterweight title defense draws closer, the 32-year-old is waiting patiently to learn if it’ll be against legacy opponent Manny Pacquiao, new WBO super-welterweight champion Patrick Teixeira or former welterweight champion Kell Brook.
That’s quite a range of potential foes: the generational eight-division world champion or left to confront an obscure 154-pound belt-wearer or a fading Brit. Beating Teixeira would make Crawford a four-division champion, matching the feat of current pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez.
But with the Pacquiao bout seen as highly unlikely for Crawford to land now, the boxing world is truly salivating over a potential 2021 welterweight-unification clash between Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) and his Texas rival, WBC and IBF champion Errol Spence Jr. (26-0, 21 KOs).
Spence decided to stay inside the Premier Boxing Champions stable for his comeback bout following the frightening crash of his Ferrari in October. He’ll meet former two-division champion Danny Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs) on Nov. 21 in Los Angeles.
Crawford and Spence will fight on back-to-back weekends, increasing speculation they’re heading to a 2021 showdown.
“I don’t know, and I’m not going to say anything that’s going to add to it,” Crawford said.
Fans have been calling for years for Errol Spence Jr. to fight Terence Crawford. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)
He did feel obligated to share that he and Spence have been talking on social media and on the phone, with Crawford praising Spence for the quality of his fight choice amid rumors of the Texan’s vulnerability since the crash.
“That’ll be a great fight. They both like to bang. Danny’s a strong fighter, strong-willed with a good chin. It’s dangerous for both guys,” Crawford said. “I’m not surprised at all (that Spence chose Garcia). He told me he was coming back and wanted the Pacquiao fight and if he didn’t get that he’d take the Garcia fight. For him to stand by what he said, that says a lot about his character and how he feels like he wasn’t affected by the car accident, like a lot of people think he was.”
That leaves Crawford to land a quality opponent.
Teixeira is an option, but he has a contract to fight his mandatory WBO challenger Brian Castano (16-0-1, 12 KOs) after plans for their April meeting were scrapped by the pandemic. The only way to maneuver out of that is step-aside money, and two sources connected to those fighters say Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has not initiated such a move.
Some boxing industry insiders have gone as far as to say Arum is only baiting Crawford since Pacquiao has senatorial duties in the Philippines and business obligations during November.
That would leave Crawford to again fend off criticism about the quality of his opposition should his fallback option, Brook, become the Nov. 14 opponent.
“At times, it gets frustrating, but it comes with the game we play,” Crawford said. “Everything’s not always going to go your way or happen at the time you want it to, but I’ve always looked at it like there’s a time and a place for every man. Maybe it’s not my time to get those fights I want at that time. Maybe I get them later on. I have a whole different outlook on it now. Still, everybody knows (Pacquiao’s) the fight I want and the one I’ve been calling for since 2015.”
High-caliber foes will help his pound-for-pound case, which took a hit after Lithuania’s Egidijus Kavaliauskas appeared to knock down Crawford before succumbing to a ninth-round TKO defeat in December.
He questioned why Kavaliauskas wasn’t considered a strong opponent despite being a two-time Olympian boasting a 21-1-1 record.
“Just because a fighter’s not known doesn’t mean he’s not in the same caliber as the top fighters,” Crawford said. “If I’m now going up a different weight division to fight for my fourth world title, that’s big. That’s history. But a lot of people won’t view (Teixeira) as a real fight for me. They’ll view it as, ‘Oh, he’s trying to pick and choose.’ That’s not the case. These are difficult fights I’m taking.
“I’ve fought southpaws, tall guys, long guys, power punchers, speed guys, boxers, brawlers. I’ve fought them all. It gets to a point where you don’t care what the people say and all you can do is do what you do the best, and that’s go in the ring and perform, and make sure you get the victory.”
Terence Crawford knocked out Egidijus Kavaliauskas in the ninth round at Madison Square Garden in December. (Al Bello / Getty Images)
Insisting there were no negotiations in progress, Crawford said he doesn’t regret telling a reporter he wasn’t willing to accept a pandemic-influenced pay cut to take a fight against former welterweight champion Shawn Porter, who took a lesser Aug. 22 bout against Sebastian Formella.
Crawford said he understands how outsiders want fighters to chase big bouts first and consider financial details second, but his maturity has taught him to prioritize the business of boxing.
“I love to beat them up, but at the same time, it has to make sense now,” Crawford said. “I’m not getting any younger. I’m at the top of the top. And I just feel I have to be compensated. I do everything I have to do on my end. I think everybody else needs to do everything on their end to make sure the fighter’s happy. We’re putting our lives on the line to make the fans happy and bring some entertainment to their lives.”
Yet, in an environment where Arum’s Top Rank and ESPN received woeful ratings for staging fights headlined by lesser-known contenders and champions inside a Las Vegas “bubble,” the promoter is thankful that Crawford is at least in acceptance of fighting in November.
“At this particular point, he realizes we’re all doing what we can to keep our head above the water,” Arum said. “This is not a normal time. (PBC head Al) Haymon and his fighters know that. Terence talks to all these guys and understands what the situation is. Without that kind of attitude and understanding, there’d be nothing I can do for him.”
But Arum has to do something, given the fans’ yearning for the return of the world’s best fighters.
“Let the yearners put up the money so these fights can happen,” Arum snapped back. “We all are capable of making big fights. The question is, who’s paying for it? It doesn’t take a whole lot of smarts to add up three numbers: what the fighters want, what the undercard will cost and what will the ‘bubble’ cost? That’s your nut. How do you make it back?
“You have no live gate, no amid. Without those revenue streams, it’s impossible to pay it back. Terence realizes what the lay of the land is. I try to explain the situation to him and all the guys. Some don’t care or don’t want to hear it, and that’s OK, but I’m not a magician who is suddenly going to manufacture money. And with 25 million people out of work and social distancing in place when we know house parties average 12 people, how do you think the pay-per-view’s going to do?”
So Crawford is left to wait for business to improve and for the promotional stars to align. He’s hopeful that if the Spence fight can’t materialize next year, he’ll have an opportunity to meet the winner of a possible 140-pound unification bout between Top Rank’s two-belt champions Jose Ramirez and Josh Taylor.
Until then, he’s striving to maintain patience amid the world’s and his sport’s unpredictability.
“I can’t get frustrated about these fighters not wanting to fight me, or wanting to wait me out, or whatever game they want to play. I can’t get mad or emotionally attached to the fact they don’t want to fight,” Crawford said.
“When I look at where I am now and where I was supposed to be 10 years ago, I’m in a better position and space than all the doubters thought I would be when they said I couldn’t beat this guy or that guy. I got here by being patient. So if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
(Top photo: Mikey Williams / Top Rank)
Crawford and difficult fights shouldn't even be in the same sentence.
If I got Thurman vs Swift/Porter on regular ass tv, fukk no the Spence/Swfit fight don't need to be ppv.
Charlo bros don't need to be a ppv either. We got Korobov and Harrison doubleheader was some regular shyt.
Tank the only fighter who name and buzz is ppv worthy imo, but they gotta stack that Cruz card and promote it.
If I got Thurman vs Swift/Porter on regular ass tv, fukk no the Spence/Swfit fight don't need to be ppv.
Charlo bros don't need to be a ppv either. We got Korobov and Harrison doubleheader was some regular shyt.
Tank the only fighter who name and buzz is ppv worthy imo, but they gotta stack that Cruz card and promote it.
desjardins
Superstar
spence vs garcia though i dont think is PPV level either...spence is a question mark and danny garcia hasn't done shyt in the division for me to think its intriguing and him failing to knockout, knockdown, or hurt ivan redkach only increases thefeeling i have about it..
I've been debating with myself whether or not this is even a "big fight". Garcia is a name and Spence is a star so i guess if Spence can get PPV money with this match up than more power to him. I'm just beginning to question if this match up is worthy of any hype.
yeah i dont feel any real heat from this fight at all..its basically seeing if spence isnt messed up or not from the car crash
yeah they are alluding if negotiations fall through, verdejo would be the 2nd choice for lomachenko
Lopez should take the fight. Lomachenko already agreed to it. A lot of athletes aren't getting the money they want right now with all that's going on in 2020.
yeah i dont feel any real heat from this fight at all..its basically seeing if spence isnt messed up or not from the car crash
Nah fukk all that, I definitely feel heat from this fight. Just not ppv heat.
nikka could have fought Figgy or Josesito to see if he still messed up from the crash, but he fighting Swift a nikka who nobody ever blanked or knocked out. Thurman and Zab the only nikkas I ever seen legit buzz/stun him so yeah its a damn good fight.
But ppv, fukk all that.
Nah fukk all that, I definitely feel heat from this fight. Just not ppv heat.
nikka could have fought Figgy or Josesito to see if he still messed up from the crash, but he fighting Swift a nikka who nobody ever blanked or knocked out. Thurman and Zab the only nikkas I ever seen legit buzz/stun him so yeah its a damn good fight.
But ppv, fukk all that.
basically it comes to 3 scenarios for what i feel about this figjht
spence wins and you already know whats going to happen
if danny wins then he's going to need to go drop them belts to either pac or crawford in a unification in his next fight..cant upset the boxing gods now
if there's a draw, im going to be irritated because a rematch may happen
The axe murderer
For I am death and I ride on a pale horse
He gotta go to the body because that chin is crazy but garçon counters are nasty.Nah fukk all that, I definitely feel heat from this fight. Just not ppv heat.
nikka could have fought Figgy or Josesito to see if he still messed up from the crash, but he fighting Swift a nikka who nobody ever blanked or knocked out. Thurman and Zab the only nikkas I ever seen legit buzz/stun him so yeah its a damn good fight.
But ppv, fukk all that.
I think Spence has Danny 100% figured out.