Terrence Crawford is cognizant of how the current economic structure in boxing has been impacted due to coronavirus.
As top fighters like Canelo Alvarez are asked to take reduced purses in return fights, the WBO welterweight champion Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) is holding his own ground and pounding the table to get what he deserves.
“My contract states I’m not taking any pay cuts. If we have to fight for the minimum, so be it,” Crawford told ESPN. “With the fans unable to come see the fight, I don’t know how that’ll fare against any top welterweight in the division. When you look at the whole landscape of the whole thing, it’s going to come down to money. And if you can’t provide the proper money for each fighter, then how is that going to make the fight happen?
“But as far as a pay cut, it depends on who we’re fighting. Manny Pacquiao is a fight that we’re still currently looking forward to getting. Like I said, the pandemic has messed up a lot of things as far as money.”
The Nebraska native Crawford earned over a $4 million purse versus Egidijus Kavaliauskas last December, a ninth-round TKO win. Crawford earned a minimum of $5.5 million versus Amir Khan in his pay per view debut last April, a sixth-round TKO.
It’s clear that the 32-year-old Crawford needs to crack the multi-million dollar barrier in order to return to the ring. Without a crowd in attendance, or a notable dance partner willing to fight, Crawford could perhaps be stuck in limbo waiting for the pandemic caused by coronavirus to clear away.
In June, Crawford promoter Bob Arum outlined five welterweights Crawford could potentially clash with by November. They include Pacquiao, Shawn Porter, Kell Brook, Keith Thurman and Yordenis Ugas.
Facing any of the aforementioned opponents would surely land Crawford a desirable compensation package.
The lower down the welterweight rung Crawford goes, the more displeased he’ll be with the numbers game once all of the calculations are over.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist and member of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America since 2011. He has written for the likes of the LA Times, Guardian, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Men’s Health and NFL.com. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan or via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com.