Fight promotion has always walked a thin line. Sometimes skill sells. It is sometimes a matter of personality. And sometimes, it’s who’s expected to be loud in the first place. That tension bubbled up in a recent sit-down when Terence Crawford asked a question that wasn’t about just one fighter but put the entire system under the radar.

On the surface, it sounded simple. Why does it feel like Black fighters have to talk trash to sell tickets? But underneath the question was years of watching how narratives get built, who is called “charismatic,” and who is labeled something else. ‘Bud’ wasn’t ranting; he was pointing to a pattern. And this very pattern also made him confess a personal bond with Conor McGregor.

Terence Crawford confesses to feeling closer to Conor McGregor

“Why is it only the Black fighters that gotta talk s— to sell?” Crawford asked Joe Rogan.

The JRE host’s response? He pushed back by pointing to MMA and white stars who built their careers off their mouths. Specifically Conor McGregor. A logical answer that got even more interesting when Terence Crawford decided to spice things up a bit.

“No, no, no, Conor McGregor. You know, I say he one of us,” the five-division world champion said. “You know, because they was treated like Black people over there where he from. You know, a lot of people don’t know that.”

It wasn’t a history lecture. It was a cultural point, as ‘Bud’ noted that under colonial rule, Irish people faced widespread prejudice, poverty, and indentured slavery. And while historians typically distinguish this from the race-based chattel slavery experienced by African Americans, the suffering in both cases was real.

After all, Terence Crawford’s objective was cultural solidarity, not academic comparison. What makes this conversation even more layered is the media framing around fighters. Historically, outspoken Black athletes, fighters like Muhammad Ali, were called arrogant or controversial before becoming icons. Floyd Mayweather Jr. even embraced the villain persona and made it quite profitable.

Studies in sports media, such as a study titled ‘Black Athletes Stereotyped Negatively in Media Compared to White Athletes’ first published and presented in June 2015 by Dr. Cynthia Frisby, an associate professor from the School of Journalism at University of Missouri, have revealed that Black athletes are more often presented as physical or controversial, whereas white athletes are described as comparatively strategic or cerebral. That difference in tone matters.

And here’s a twist: ‘Bud’ himself doesn’t even use trash talk. Terence Crawford once turned away a reported $200 million two-fight deal with ‘The Notorious,’ first in MMA and then boxing.

“I told Conor to himself, ‘Hell no,’” Crawford had revealed. “They called me; they offered me the fight, and me and Conor got on the phone, and we started politicking, you know, trying to figure something out.

“And I just told him, ‘Man, I’m not getting in no f—— Octagon with you so you can be kicking me and elbowing me and s—.”

Conor McGregor respected it. Terence Crawford turned away, not out of fear, but because, for him, it isn’t always about the money. There is mutual respect there. However, it seems that respect stays limited to ‘The Notorious’ and does not move toward MMA, as Crawford insists that the UFC will never be better than boxing.

Crawford’s firm takes on McGregor’s turf

Respect for Conor McGregor is one thing. Respect for mixed martial arts as a whole? That’s where Terence Crawford draws the line. During a livestream with Adin Ross and Shakur Stevenson, the conversation shifted from business decisions to something bigger: legacy, skills, and hierarchy.

“The UFC will never be better than boxing,” Crawford said. “UFC is good for what they do, and we’re good for what we do. You know what I mean?

“You’ve got to think, if I can’t whoop you with my hands, I can kick you; I can take you down. It’s a whole different mental capacity than just kicking, punching.”

When the discussion went to crossover hypotheticals, Shakur Stevenson further echoed the sentiment. When asked if a fighter like Jon Jones would dominate boxing, Stevenson responded without hesitation with a blunt, “Hell no.”

Not just that, he even tossed a friendly challenge at UFC lightweight champion and arguably the best boxer in the promotion, Ilia Topuria, asking if MMA champions could actually cross that gap. The tone wasn’t aggressive; it was confident. To some, even dismissive.

But he is sure that while Terence Crawford can laugh with Conor McGregor, turn down $200 million, and express mutual respect, his position remains clear. Boxing reigns supreme in his universe. MMA may be explosive, surprising, and extremely popular, but in his opinion, when it comes to pure striking skill, it isn’t even close.