TERENCE CRAWFORD has CONFIRMED talks to fight Conor McGregor – but admitted no amount of money could tempt him into the MMA cage.
McGregor revealed an offer was on the table for a never-before-seen two-fight deal in boxing and MMA with Crawford.
But the former undisputed world boxing champion is not getting kicked or elbowed for any number.
Crawford said to Bernie the Boxer: “I told Conor, ‘Hell no’.
“They called me and they offered me the fight and me and Conor got on the phone and started trying to figure something out.
“And I told him, ‘Man I ain’t getting into no octagon with you so you can be kicking me and elbow me and s***’.
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“He started laughing and s*** and he said ‘Man, I respect it. You respect my sport just like I respect your sport and you understand that if you get in an octagon you’re going to be at a disadvantage.
“‘Just like if I get into the boxing ring with you, I’m going to be at a disadvantage’.
“But he was like, ‘We will make a s*** ton of money’. I said, ‘Yeah, sometimes it ain’t about the money, I can make money but you ain’t about to be kicking me, dude’.
“Kicks and elbows man that s*** ain’t no joke.”
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McGregor put his UFC career on hold in 2017 to face ring great Floyd Mayweather in a crossover clash worth huge sums.
Crawford meanwhile wrestled in his youth but went on to become one of the greatest boxers of his era.
McGregor said during a Duelbits livestream: “Crawford is very slick, he also has a wrestling background pedigree.
“You know they’re always talking to me about bouts. I’ve already boxed a boxer, and the best boxer in MMA is me.
“You know what I mean? I generate the most. We were talking back and forth about a two-fight deal.”
In Crawford’s last fight he beat Israil Madrimov to win the WBA super-welterweight world title.
It was also his first with Saudi boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season – who recently partnered with the UFC.
And McGregor, 36, was the first to reveal that Crawford, 37, was approached for the two-fight double header before declining.
He said: “I get on the phone and say ‘Crawford, they’re here talking about you and me. Two-fight deal, MMA first, boxing second.
“I know you have an extensive wrestling background, and balls the size of a Bengal tiger.
“They’re asking for a fight, it’ll be hundreds of millions on the line. ‘What’s up?’, I said.
“And then he goes, ‘I don’t fancy taking a kick off Conor McGregor’, that’s what he said. You have to respect that.”
Crawford is a four-division champion and considered one of the best boxers on the planet.
He is currently eyeing a super-fight against Mexican icon Canelo Alvarez, 34, despite rumours of pondering retirement.
McGregor meanwhile has been out of action since July 2021 when he broke his leg before being ruled out of his return bout in June.
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The Irishman was forced to pull out of facing Michael Chandler due to a toe injury.
Chandler, 38, has since signed to rematch Charles Oliveira, 34, on November 16 to leave McGregor’s next fight in doubt.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
