Leading into his welterweight title defense this weekend, Terence Crawford takes media questions about his upcoming career plans and what we can expect to see from him, even if he can’t get major fights against PBC welterweights. Check it out...
On people who say he’s ‘on the wrong side of the street’ if he’s trying to unify 147, being that he’s with Top Rank/ESPN while the other top names are with PBC:
“I would say all of you (media) that’s feeding the people that ‘wrong side of the street.’ There’s no such thing as wrong side of the street in the sport of boxing. When you look at it, Deontay Wilder is about to fight Tyson Fury and you never heard anything about ‘wrong side of the street.’ It’s just something they say when Terence Crawford got something to do with it. You don’t ever hear ‘wrong side of the street’ with any other fighter but Terence Crawford...
“If those fights can get made then they can get made. It’s more so about money at the end of the day.”
On how much that ongoing narrative bothers him:
“It really too much don’t bother me as much as people think. I done accomplished more than all those welterweights over there except Pacquiao. If you look at what I accomplished in the sport of boxing, if you looks at what Errol, Keith, Shawn, Danny Garcia, all those other welterweights over there, I done accomplished way more each and every one of them, except Pacquiao.
“I really don’t need them. They need me.”
On just trying to stay busy and earn without getting caught up in the politics of the sport:
“Ya’ll look at us fighters and say ‘oh, he’s not fighting a top opponent’ and ya’ll really ain’t did ya’ll history on the opponent. Like I look at ‘Mean Machine’ as a good opponent, a quality opponent. He’s a two-time Olympian, never lost before. Yeah, he had a close fight with Ray Robinson but Ray Robinson is an awkward fighter. Dude can fight, he know what he doing in there, and it makes for a great fight.”
On Spence saying Crawford isn’t pulling in enough numbers to fight him yet:
“That’s just an excuse. If I fought those same opponents that he fought, then just think, my numbers would be the same, probably more.”
On if he’d be disappointed if Spence never regains his form prior to his car accident, preventing a fight between them from ever happening:
“Well, yeah. It would be a bad way to leave the sport if he don’t get back. But at the same time — decisions you make, you know? It’s nothing I can do about it.”
On if he would go back down to 140 if he can’t land major fights at 147:
“...if I was to go back down to 140, what would everybody say? I’m picking on, bullying people. Right?
“I’m going to 160 after this...I’m going to 160, whoever. You think I’m playing, I’m going to 160. My next fight I’m going to 160.”