The American boxer Terence Crawford categorically ruled out any possibility of entering mixed martial arts, denying the rumors that arose around supposed proposals to enter the octagon.

The athlete argued that the relationship between physical effort and financial compensation in that discipline is not convenient for professional athletes compared to paid boxing.

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Financial evaluation at the beginning of your career

Even in the early stages of his professional career, when championship opportunities were not yet established, the fighter avoided considering the transition to mixed martial arts.

In a conversation with journalist Ariel Helwani in his interview space, Terence Crawford detailed how the analysis of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) job market influenced his decision to remain in boxing.

“Not once,” Terence Crawford was forceful when he responded in an interview with Ariel Helwani if ​​in the first years of his career he would have thought about switching to MMA because of his experience. “I always saw it like this: I have friends who were in the MMA, friends who came to the UFC, and they were paid 20 thousand dollars just for appearing and another 20 thousand if they won,” explained the former undisputed monarch about the contractual conditions that he observed in his close environment.

Income disparity between combat disciplines

For Terence Crawford, the salary difference between boxing and mixed martial arts was the determining factor in ruling out any commercial approach with MMA companies. Analysis of the budgets revealed that UFC fighters depended on limited purses and group sponsorships that subsequently underwent regulatory modifications.

“You left with 40 thousand dollars and, at that time, they also got around 100 thousand dollars in sponsorships between all of them,” added the boxer during his intervention on Ariel Helwani's program. "Later they took that away from them. So it was like: I earn 40 thousand dollars if I emerge victorious from a very tough fight. Do you understand? While you earn 40 thousand dollars, I earn ten times more," he pointed out to illustrate the difference in the economic valuation of his work in the rings.

Physical wear and tear versus financial compensation

The assimilation of physical punishment is another of the critical points that the athlete identified when evaluating the viability of competing inside a cage. The boxer considers that the number of techniques allowed in mixed martial arts, combined with throws and ground combat, increases the risk of serious injuries without this translating into a proportional economic benefit for the participant.

“And I have always thought that, due to the amount of punishment that MMA fighters have to subject their bodies to and everything they have to endure for so little money, it is not an intelligent decision,” concluded Terence Crawford when setting his position on the business model of the promotion led by Dana White. “It simply doesn't make sense to me,” concluded the athlete when closing the issue before the media.