Terence Crawford insists that his promoters at Top Rank are going to need to pay him extra for him to agree to fight without fans if it comes to that due to the pandemic.
WBO welterweight champion Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) wants to get paid the money he would be getting if there were a live audience watching. For Crawford to fight without a crowd, he would be taking a pay cut, and he doesn’t want to do that.
Is Crawford willing to sit inactive until crowds come back?
The famous 32-year-old Crawford is prepared it out and wait until crowds are allowed back into live boxing events if his promoters are unwilling or unable to pay him extra.
If Crawford does choose to sit without fighting, he could miss out on fighting 2020, as well as potentially 2021. Whether Crawford would be fine with missing out on what could be three paydays for the sake of him being paid extra is unclear. Crawford won’t come out ahead if he sits idle for two years, waiting for the fans to be allowed back.
Crawford wants extra pay
“If it was to happen, then they have to pay me more,” said Crawford to Sports Illustrated about fighting without fans.
“They have to pay me more because fighters of my status and on my level, we get paid for the people that are coming there as well. So, you know, if I can’t get paid off of people coming, then I’m going to have to get paid upfront.”
“You know, you’ve gotta pay me, you know, to go up there and do what I do because it ain’t free,” Crawford said.
What Crawford may not understand is boxing is going to change for a while, and there may not be the money that he was accustomed to getting in the past. When the economy does restart, it could take a long time before things return to normal.
That means if boxing fans are suffering financially in dealing with joblessness, they won’t have the means to see Crawford fight. Besides, they won’t have the money to pay to see Crawford fight guys like Amir Khan on pay-per-view. The days of Crawford fighting mediocre opposition on PPV could be at an end for a year or two.
Taking a Pay cut doesn’t interest Terence
“Nah, I ain’t ready to do all that,” Crawford said about taking a pay cut. “I done took less money, you know, almost my whole career, you know, just because I knew where I was trying to go and what I was trying to accomplish. So, you know, we passed that part.”
Crawford last fought in December in successfully defending his WBO 147-pound title with a 9th round knockout over WBO mandatory Egidijus Kavaliauskas. This was an upgrade for Crawford from his three previous opponents Amir Khan, Jose Benavidez Jr., and Jeff Horn.
Crawford’s record stands at 36-0 with 27 knockouts.
