The list of boxers Conor McGregor could fight next continues to grow.
One of boxing’s most respected promoters Bob Arum spoke to Dan Rafael of ESPN and believes that his Top Rank fighter Terence Crawford should fight Conor McGregor next. Arum believes that a fight between these two makes plenty of sense. Even more, Arum doesn’t want just McGregor to step into the boxing ring. He wants his fighter Crawford to step into an MMA cage first. According to Arum discussions are already underway.
“An elite boxer in Terence Crawford vs an elite MMA fighter in Conor Mcgregor, would be interesting and I something the public would want to see? I think it’s very realistic”.
Terrance Crawford is currently one of the best boxers on the planet. He is the current WBO welterweight champion with a record of 36-0. The 32-year-old from Nebraska has cleaned out the welterweight division and has been itching for a challenge. Though he has never been in an MMA fight Crawford does have a wrestling background. His father, grandfather, and uncle all wrestled.
“I’m a fighter first. As a fighter, I would entertain it. I just have to have the proper time to train and prepare myself. I haven’t been in a wrestling environment in a long but I can compete with anyone given proper time to train”.
@danawhite do I need to get my mma gloves ready?
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford)
In 2017 Conor McGregor stepped into the boxing ring with one of the greatest of all time in may Floyd Mayweather. ‘The Notorious’ fell short losing via TKO in the 10th round but proved he can keep up with elite boxers. The event was the 2nd highest-grossing PPV event in history with 4.3 million buys (Mayweather vs Pacquiao 4.6 million buys).
Arum believes McGregor has no chance to in a boxing match except to cash in on a major payday. He believes Crawford’s toughness and background in wrestling could prove a tough battle in the octagon compared to anyone else.
“Mayweather and Pacquiao would never fight under boxing rules but Crawford would”.
Prior to UFC 246, McGregor spoke about his aspirations to get back in the ring and win a world boxing championship with Manny Pacquiao’s name even being thrown around. Following his 40 second TKO victory over Donald Cerrone, Mayweather teased on social media about a rematch with McGregor and also a fight with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.