Terence Crawford Still Chasing Elusive Boxing Stardom

Terence Crawford is a great fighter. There’s a strong case to be made that he’s the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. But his commercial appeal has always lagged behind his in-ring ability.

And don’t let the talk show/podcast appearances and paid-for media promotion for his upcoming bout fool you– that’s still the case.

There’s been plenty of buzz about lagging ticket sales for the card he’s headlining this Saturday at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, as well as some alleged organizer chicanery in trying to create the illusion of demand for tickets.

Pitted against negative-draw junior middleweight titlist Israil Madrimov, almost 1,600 miles away from his home base of Omaha, Nebraska, apathy was predictable. But there was hope that this first Saudi Riyadh Season card in the US, with a solid undercard beneath it and an Eminem set before the main event, would be significantly better received. The hope was that the wild enthusiasm would come from fans and not almost entirely from thirsty media looking to grovel for gigs and ingratiate themselves to the deep-pocketed Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.

Terence Crawford, Hard Sell?

But even with good support on the undercard, a set from Eminem, deep discounts on tickets, a luxury car giveaway, and media screaming at the world about the show’s “historic” awesomeness, “Bud” Crawford is generating “Bud” Crawford interest.

That means he has an appeal to the hardcore boxing base, but generally not much appeal outside of that core. A disappointing 650K pay-per-view purchases for his highly-anticipated welterweight unification clash with Errol Spence last year– a bout with tons of appeal to boxing fans that generated “don’t pirate this show” lectures running all throughout the fandom– speaks to the reality when it comes to Terence Crawford as a business. Prior to the Spence bout, Crawford’s combined sales for four previous pay-per-view headlining shows was, reportedly, in the neighborhood of 325K.

Back when Crawford was close to the end of his promotional contract with Bob Arum’s Top Rank, Arum rattled off this now-(in)famous attack on Crawford’s bankability.

“He’s got to promote like [Teofimo] Lopez does,” Arum told The Athletic. “He’s got to promote like Shakur [Stevenson] does. Like [Floyd] Mayweather did. Like [Manny] Pacquiao did. If he doesn’t, then who the f**k needs him? He may be the greatest fighter in the world, but, hey, I ain’t going bankrupt promoting him.”

When asked if he can keep Crawford in house and stop the talented fighter from hitting free agency, Arum got especially frank.

“That’s not the right question,” Arum said. “The question is, ‘Do we want to keep him?’ I could build a house in Beverly Hills on the money I’ve lost on him in the last three fights. A beautiful home… The question is, ‘Does it [Crawford’s work] pay the bills?’ Look, you can have the greatest opera singer in the world. If the fans don’t support it, you’re out of business.”

Yeah, the irony of a promoter blaming the fighter he’s supposed to be promoting for not being a bigger star is not lost on this writer.

But, still, Arum’s not wrong.

Without the good fortune of having run into some money marks (BLK Prime and the Saudis) as a free agent and an Errol Spence who was aggressive in pushing for their big unification bout, Crawford would be making bottom dollar for a fighter of his abilities.

Eddie Hearn Weighs In

“To be honest with you, I really, really like Terence Crawford. He’s got such a good heart, and he’s such a good person,” promoter Eddie Hearn (who represents Crawford foe Madrimov this Saturday) recently told Boxingscene.com. “He’s a winner.”

“One of the problems in boxing in America is that the public doesn’t get an opportunity to see what the individual is like, and I feel if people got to see Terence Crawford and what he stood for – the way he lives his life, the way he works, the way he respects the game and the way he raises his kids, in their athletics and wrestling, that should be championed.

“I don’t really understand why, in your country, you don’t champion him more. Obviously, people aren’t promoting him the right way. People aren’t pushing him. If I promoted Terence Crawford, I’d want all of America to know this guy. And I think you’d love him.

“We love him in boxing, he’s still a star, but I just feel like he’s not (a crossover star). Just because he’s not screaming, (swearing), shouting…he’s a role model.”

Why Isn’t Bud Bigger?

A huge problem was that Arum and Top Rank really didn’t know how to promote Crawford. It’s long been said that the oldest active major promotional company doesn’t do a very good job of promoting black fighters and that tag is hard to deny given their recent track record. Their tired “he comes from the streets and a life of crime to find purpose in boxing” trope is old and not easily applicable to Crawford.

Another big problem was with Crawford, himself.

Up until the post-Spence win whirlwind, Crawford was surly, unpleasant, and downright dismissive of media (and a good chunk of fandom). It’s hard to sell something to someone when you’re pushing everyone away.

Whatever the case, the three-division world champ (maybe four-division world champ after Saturday), finds himself in the same position he’s been in since hitting the boxing main stage.

He’s everything fans claim to want in a boxing superstar. He’s highly skilled. He’s aggressive and has a fierce killer instinct. He’s just not selling. Not as much as he should be, anyway.

Fortunately for Crawford, he’s once again found someone willing to lose money for the privilege of showcasing his mastery. As a new “Global Ambassador” for the Saudis, the soon-to-be 37-year-old can keep his show going indefinitely without concern for actually turning a profit.

That seems ideal for a Terence Crawford who just can’t seem to fully conquer boxing’s fickle fandom.