Was it money that pushed “the Baddest Man on the Planet” back into the ring to face YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul? After all, Mike Tyson had already been out of professional boxing for 19 years. And at 58, he wasn’t exactly in his prime to take a fight. The matchup stirred controversy from the moment it was announced, especially after it was postponed in June due to Tyson’s ulcer flare-up during a cross-country flight. Still, Tyson eventually made his way to the ring in late November, stepping in front of a packed crowd of 70,000+ fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. He reportedly walked away with a cool $20 million for his efforts.
But the payday didn’t stop the criticism from pouring in. Many fans labeled the event a ‘circus,’ and both Jake Paul and Tyson took plenty of heat afterward, with some even speculating it was rigged. One fighter who didn’t hold back was the two-division undisputed champion Terence Crawford. “I love Mike Tyson, but they gave him too much credit,” Crawford said on X right after the fight ended. “He looked like trash, to train that long and only throw 97 punches the whole fight is crazy. I’m just glad he didn’t get hurt out there,” read the rest of the tweet.
Anyway, five months after that bizarre spectacle between The Problem Child and Mike Tyson, Terence Crawford is finally giving his honest verdict. In a recent appearance on Club Shay Shay, Bud Crawford was asked point-blank whether he thought the fight was rigged — a theory that had been floating around since the end of the fight. “I don’t know. I don’t want to spread [any] rumors,” Crawford told Shannon Sharpe as the whole room broke out in laughter. But then, the southpaw from Omaha shifted gears and got a lot more serious.
Clearly still disappointed by the whole event, Terence Crawford made it clear where he stood. “I love Tyson,” he said. But the fight? It shouldn’t have happened. He doubled down, repeating, “Tyson shouldn’t have been out there. At all.” While Crawford’s comments were sharp, they also came from a place of respect and sympathy for the 58-year-old veteran boxer.
And even though he was critical, the 41-0 boxer made one thing very clear. Jake Paul should not be bragging about the outcome. “In no way shape or form, or fashion should Jake Paul ever be able to say he beat Mike Tyson,” Crawford said. “Mike Tyson is old. Old enought to be my dad. He shouldn’t have been there.”
Obviously, Terence Crawford isn’t impressed with Jake Paul’s decision to take on an aging legend. But what if he ever crossed paths with Jake Paul himself? Would he be willing to step into the ring? Well, the 37-year-old already has an answer.
How much would it take for Terence Crawford to fight Jake Paul?
Mike Tyson’s $20 million payday almost feels like an afterthought now, especially after two-weight undisputed champion Terence Crawford casually named his price to take on Jake Paul. Paul, who recently fought Tyson at heavyweight, is set to face former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. next — this time at cruiserweight. That means if Terence Crawford ever wanted to fight The Problem Child, he’d have to jump up a few weight classes… and that’s asking a lot from the undefeated future Hall of Famer.
Credits: Imago
In the same podcast, Bud Crawford’s first reaction to the idea of fighting the 11-1, 7 KO boxer was pretty much what you’d expect. Size alone made it a hard no at first, but when money entered the conversation, things changed real quick.
When the NFL Hall of Famer asked if he’d ever step into the ring with Jake Paul, Terence Crawford said, “Nah, nah. He [is] too big… But he’s doing his thing.” Bud Crawford didn’t sound interested — until Sharpe threw out a wild hypothetical: What if the purse was $200 million?
Without missing a beat, Terence Crawford laughed and said, “I am fighting Jake Paul,” setting off a roar of laughter across the room. Turns out, for the right price, anything is possible. And, the same was very much a case with the Tyson-Paul fight. Would you watch a Terence Crawford vs. Jake Paul fight if it ever materialises?
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