Terence Crawford rules out MMA move: ‘They don’t pay enough’

Terence Crawford is stepping away from the ring, but don’t expect him to step into a cage anytime soon.

The undefeated 38-year-old recently announced he was retiring from boxing, putting a cap on a legendary career that saw him go 42-0 and capture world titles across five different weight classes. Crawford’s final fight was a mega matchup with fellow superstar Canelo Alvarez in September, a bout Crawford won via a convincing 12-round unanimous decision.

Given he likely still has plenty left in the tank physically and his background in wrestling, fans have often wondered if Crawford would consider a move to MMA. But until MMA fighter pay goes up, Crawford is passing on that option.

“Nah,” Crawford said flatly, responding to a fan question on an Adin Ross Kick stream. “Nah, they don’t pay enough. … Man, you get messed up in wrestling, just in general. To do wrestling, kicking, boxing, and elbowing, man, you can have it.”

Crawford is widely regarded as one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters of his era, with numerous high-profile championship victories, including a 2023 masterclass against Errol Spence Jr., who was considered Crawford’s most difficult matchup at the time. Ahead of Crawford’s fight with Canelo, UFC star Ilia Topuria boasted he could knock out Crawford, which drew an amused response from the boxer, who admitted he’d never even watched Topuria’s fights.

And as of now? He still hasn’t.

“Listen, this is crazy,” Crawford said of Topuria. “I’ve never seen this dude fight. Never, not once. I’m going to have to watch him on YouTube, I swear to God, I have never seen this dude fight.”

That said, Crawford is a professed MMA fan, and he can name at least two fighters he admires even if Topuria doesn’t make the cut.

“Jon Jones and Khabib [Nurmagomedov], hands down,” Crawford said. “They’re my guys.”