Terence Crawford Responds To Bob Arum Comments: ‘He Can Release Me Now’

Terence Crawford was not pleased with the remarks of his Top Rank Boxing promoter Bob Arum.

Crawford successfully defended his WBO welterweight title following an impressive fourth-round TKO win over Kell Brook this past weekend.

However, what made headlines was Arum’s comments before the fight where he claimed he lost money promoting Crawford.

“I could build a house in Beverly Hills on the money I’ve lost on him in the last three fights,” Arum said. “A beautiful home. Nobody questions Crawford’s innate, tremendous ability. By beating a naturally bigger guy (in Brook), decisively, that’s a big statement that he’s making.

“The question is, ‘Does it 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.”

Many in the combat sports world were shocked with Arum’s comments, especially as it is the promoter’s job — not the fighter’s — to promote fights.

And as far as Crawford was concerned, he was not happy whatsoever with those remarks.

“It pissed me off,” Crawford said on The Ak & Barak Show (via Bad Left Hook). “I am one of the most loyalest, to the core, and for him to go out and say some foolish shit like that, it made me just look at him a whole totally different way.”

However, Crawford denied reports that he was leaving Top Rank as he remains committed to them — despite the current trials and tribulations they are both going through.

“We may have had a disagreement, right now we’re going through some trials and tribulations and we are gonna get it figured out,” Crawford explained. “But at the same time, I cannot bash Bob Arum and Top Rank, I cannot do that. Because without them — they gave me the opportunities to accomplish everything I accomplished in my career. So I can’t sit there and bash Bob Arum and Top Rank, when I know, deep down in my heart, he really is a good dude. And he really did do everything that is possible, in his will, to get these fights I was asking for.

“I don’t know what made him come out and say all the negative stuff he said about me, maybe it’s because all these people kept saying that I was leaving him, and he wanted to seem like I was a bad guy. I don’t know, I haven’t had a conversation with him about it.”

When Crawford was later read out an excerpt of what Arum said, however, he went on to dare the longtime promoter to release him if that’s how he felt.

“That’s cool, that’s cool, if that’s what he said,” Crawford added. “If Arum feels that way, then he can release me now. I’m not an asset your company, release me right now. You don’t have to wait for after a Spence fight. Release me now. If I am such a loss or a headache — shiiiiit.”

Whatever the case, a face-to-face conversation is seemingly in order.

What do you make of Crawford’s response?