Tweet
So Coppinger just wrote an article on The Athletic regarding the issues between the two parties, and I'll post some of the highlights.
-Crawford intentionally delayed signing the contract to fight Brook for three weeks to stick it to TR for not delivering on a marquee opponent but because he took so long to sign the contract, they could not promote the fight during the Lomachenko/Lopez telecast. This ticked BoMac and the rest of Team Crawford off.
-Crawford's attorney said his client is beyond frustrated as TR has failed to deliver a big money, break through fight for him.
-TR was in advanced stages with Pacquiao to put a fight in the Middle East where Pacquiao would receive a 23.5M guarantee and Crawford would receive a 6.5M guarantee with upside of $5 dollars per PPV exceeding 300k buys. Crawford countered with a 9.5M guarantee with $500,000 upside. According to TR, the fight fell through due to Covid but Crawford's side is tired of hearing why the Pacquiao fight continues to fall apart since TR has been "dangling" it in front of them for years.
-Todd deBoef said they have made offers to DSG, Porter etc and they are doing everything they could do on their part. deBoef also said they have given Crawford every opportunity to increase his name value but he continues to pass on opportunities to go on top radio stations or TV stations. Crawford turned down a big radio spot before the Khan fight and gave little effort promoting the fight that failed to crack 150,000 buys.
-Crawford put it in his contract when he fought Mean Machine that TR would have to attempt to make the Spence fight and make a legitimate offer. Spence obviously got in a car wreck and Crawford said he doesn't want to fight him until he shows he is back and is still a great fighter.
-Crawford, even when given spots on SportsCenter and other big shows, is not personable at all and looks disinterested in every interview. He thinks he is a bigger star than he is, and TR is getting frustrated themselves.
-Crawford is earning another terrific purse this fight:
-Crawford signed a three year deal on October of 2018 and will be a free agent next October. Yet to be determined what he decides to do, but he is open to leaving if he can't get the fights he wants.
I think I covered the important stuff in this article and didn't want to go overboard posting tidbits of the article as it is behind a paywall and boxingscene does not like that.
Anyways, I think people have been too hard on Top Rank here. Maybe Crawford does end up leaving, but how can they make Crawford into a bigger star when he does not want to get in front of the camera or hop on to the top radio stations? Compare Crawford to Lopez, the latter who has been on damn near every single radio station doing interviews after his big win over Lomachenko. Lopez WANTS to be a star and knows what he has to do to become one. Now, Spence isn't one that does crazy amount of interviews himself, but he has the backing of the Cowboys which helps big time. Crawford can't do much with the backing of Nebraska so it is on him to get out more in front of the public.
I always said he should not leave Top Rank if he does not want to. I hate when people want fighters to leave elsewhere. It's THEIR lives, no one should tell them to work for someone they don't want to work with. Even if he stays at Top Rank, I think he will at least get the Spence fight next year. Of course, that is if Spence is still the same fighter and comes through against Garcia in December.
-Crawford intentionally delayed signing the contract to fight Brook for three weeks to stick it to TR for not delivering on a marquee opponent but because he took so long to sign the contract, they could not promote the fight during the Lomachenko/Lopez telecast. This ticked BoMac and the rest of Team Crawford off.
This was simply the latest episode in a simmering behind-the-scenes rift between Crawford and Top Rank. Just a few weeks earlier on Sept. 7, Crawford’s attorney, Todd Kinney of the Omaha, Neb.-based law firm Kutak Rock, sent a letter to Top Rank president Todd duBoef airing a litany of grievances related to the direction of Crawford’s career.
-TR was in advanced stages with Pacquiao to put a fight in the Middle East where Pacquiao would receive a 23.5M guarantee and Crawford would receive a 6.5M guarantee with upside of $5 dollars per PPV exceeding 300k buys. Crawford countered with a 9.5M guarantee with $500,000 upside. According to TR, the fight fell through due to Covid but Crawford's side is tired of hearing why the Pacquiao fight continues to fall apart since TR has been "dangling" it in front of them for years.
-Todd deBoef said they have made offers to DSG, Porter etc and they are doing everything they could do on their part. deBoef also said they have given Crawford every opportunity to increase his name value but he continues to pass on opportunities to go on top radio stations or TV stations. Crawford turned down a big radio spot before the Khan fight and gave little effort promoting the fight that failed to crack 150,000 buys.
-Crawford put it in his contract when he fought Mean Machine that TR would have to attempt to make the Spence fight and make a legitimate offer. Spence obviously got in a car wreck and Crawford said he doesn't want to fight him until he shows he is back and is still a great fighter.
-Crawford, even when given spots on SportsCenter and other big shows, is not personable at all and looks disinterested in every interview. He thinks he is a bigger star than he is, and TR is getting frustrated themselves.
He’s undoubtedly well-known to boxing fans and casual combat sports observers, but outside of that scope, he hasn’t truly moved the needle thus far. His reach certainly is nowhere near that of Pacquiao, but he also hasn’t drawn as well as Spence, who has pulled in nearly 50,000 fans at the home of the Dallas Cowboys and twice reeled in over 300,000 PPV buys.
Despite Crawford’s unhappiness, he’s being paid handsomely for what his team views as just another fight. The champion will earn $4 million, per sources, $500,000 above his guaranteed minimum. Brook is set to make $2 million.
I think I covered the important stuff in this article and didn't want to go overboard posting tidbits of the article as it is behind a paywall and boxingscene does not like that.
Anyways, I think people have been too hard on Top Rank here. Maybe Crawford does end up leaving, but how can they make Crawford into a bigger star when he does not want to get in front of the camera or hop on to the top radio stations? Compare Crawford to Lopez, the latter who has been on damn near every single radio station doing interviews after his big win over Lomachenko. Lopez WANTS to be a star and knows what he has to do to become one. Now, Spence isn't one that does crazy amount of interviews himself, but he has the backing of the Cowboys which helps big time. Crawford can't do much with the backing of Nebraska so it is on him to get out more in front of the public.
I always said he should not leave Top Rank if he does not want to. I hate when people want fighters to leave elsewhere. It's THEIR lives, no one should tell them to work for someone they don't want to work with. Even if he stays at Top Rank, I think he will at least get the Spence fight next year. Of course, that is if Spence is still the same fighter and comes through against Garcia in December.
Comment