By: Sean Crose
“I’m about to give it to y’all raw and uncut,” Terence Crawford said on an Instagram live feed Tuesday night to explain his side of the recent negotiation drama between himself and team Errol Spence. According to Crawford, he reached out to Spence last May, which effectively got negotiations going between himself and Spence’s advisor Al Haymon. “Al’s a good dude, man,” Crawford admitted. “Al’s a charming guy. He’s a cool dude. I kind of like talking to him, but at the same time Spence is Al’s guy and I’m not.” Crawford went on to say that he and Haymon were “going back and forth over the numbers,” then some potential investors stepped in.
“I have two companies that reached out to me,” Crawford said, “that wanted to get me and Spence 25 million dollars guaranteed.” According to Crawford, he reached out to Spence about the matter. After initially discussing the new development Crawford claimed Spence never bothered calling back, so he reached out to Haymon himself on the matter. “Al tells me straight up “I’m not letting nobody touch this fight,'” Crawford said, adding that, with little progress being made, he then offered a sit down of sorts in order to sort things out.
“I said ‘Al listen, why don’t you get Spence and you since you’re his representative and I get myself and my lawyer and we just make this fight…and Al told me straight up: ‘That ain’t ever happened in the history of ever.'” Crawford retorted on the live stream that he himself “never heard of a fighter taking zero guarantee in a fight…that is something that’s new to me but that was something I was willing to do.” All in all, Crawford was clear about how he saw negotiations for a fight with Spence. “I’m the only one that was taking all the risks,” he said. Crawford went on to add that a guarantee never was sent his way.
“I never was offered a guarantee, not once,” Crawford said. “That’s how much confidence and faith I have in myself – I took it all.” Crawford, if he is to be believed, was completely certain that he would beat Spence in the ring. “I took the risk,” he said. “I believe in my abilities and I believe in myself…Errol Spence, he can’t say the same.”
Crawford indicated Haymon was confident Spence would be fine with or without a fight for the undisputed welterweight championship of he world. “Al told me if I don’t take this fight he’s just going to go and Errol Spence is going to make eight figures without me,” Crawford said. “I’m not the type of guy to sit on my ass, to sit on my hands for no man.”