Terence Crawford Says He Was Blackballed, Career Record Tells a Different Story
He recently opened up about being shunned and mistreated during his ascension, saying he was severely beaten before he finally came out on top. Bud’s usual narrative, but a quick look at the history books makes the claim hard to swallow.
The reality of Crawford’s work does not reflect the struggle of a hero left in the cold. Really blackballed fighters are not immediately followed. They don’t quickly find images on empty subjects or go straight to unassailable opportunities. Crawford did all those things.
“I’m saying this because to others it doesn’t matter what I do, yall hate me. When I was fighting, no one chased me. It’s the reason why I was blackballed and I’m still coming out on top. Real mf know and those who didn’t get it,” said Crawford to X.
When Crawford is pressured, the system does a poor job of it. He became the undisputed king at 140 pounds and then repeated the feat at 147. Locked-out Fighters often spend their primes rotting away in forced quarters, waiting for the call that never comes. Crawford, on the other hand, went separate ways in a straight line to the belts.
Even his jump to light middleweight led to an immediate title fight. That’s the definition of an “A-side” treatment, not the resume of the man the industry tried to write off.
The only time Crawford’s career seemed to be interrupted was his time at welterweight. While he was sitting on the side of Top Rank on the road, the big names he wanted, Errol Spence Jr., Keith Thurman, and Shawn Porter, were all under Premier Boxing Champions (PBC).
That was not a conspiracy against Crawford, but rather a sign of the reality of a broken game. Conflicts are notoriously difficult, especially when two competing companies are protecting their assets. Crawford was simply on the other end of the promotional fence.
The irony here is that Crawford has nothing left to prove. He ended his undefeated run, racked up hardware in multiple weight classes, and got the legacy-defining victory Spence craved.
When a less successful fighter continues to lean on the “me versus the world” narrative, it begins to feel forced. It sounds less like a champion denied his due and more like a man frustrated that he couldn’t spell out all the terms of every deal on his particular timeline.
Calling yourself a “blackball” while holding undisputed belts in three different weight divisions, including super middleweight after jumping the line to defeat Canelo last September, is a huge stretch.
The idea that Crawford was a recluse is unconvincing given the “voice track” he’s enjoyed recently.
Many fighters have to spend years out of necessity, fighting dangerous, low-paying opponents just to get a title shot. Crawford actually jumped the entire ecosystem at super middleweight.
If Crawford had been forced to actually “win” that Canelo fight by working in the ratings, the conversation would have been very different.
Osleys Iglesias: A devastating southpaw who was destroying people.
Christian Mbilli: High volume pressure cooker fresh off that tough match with Lester Martinez.
Lester Martinez: A solid granite fighter who proved against Billi that he is a god.
Feeding a career welterweight/light middleweight in those 168 pound natures is a different kind of risk. Those guys are not just “opponents”. Crawford gets to jump that “gauntlet” without being blackballed.
