The Tough Negotiations Behind the Fight: Crawford Opens Up

In a candid conversation with Andre Ward, Terence “Bud” Crawford opened up about the exhausting nine-hour negotiations it took to finalize his mega-fight.

Crawford described being left to negotiate by himself, going back and forth with promoters who refused to budge. “It was tough, because it was like you by yourself… and we was there for like nine hours,” he explained. Both sides were stubborn, leading to tense exchanges.

At one point, Crawford said he pushed to speak directly with Turki Alalshikh, but was told he couldn’t because of their friendship. “They were trying to protect Turki from the friendship, because they knew he might give in,” Crawford revealed. Instead, he was told: “You can see Turki once the deal is done.”

Crawford recalled the frustration: “Man, y’all talking ain’t making sense. Y’all keep bringing people in, trying to jump me. That’s not gonna work.” But eventually, both sides compromised, reaching a middle-ground deal. “It wasn’t an agreement they wanted, and it wasn’t an agreement I wanted, but we said let’s roll with it.”

In the end, Crawford confirmed everything was finalized in that one exhausting day. “That day… everything happened that day,” he said. Despite the struggles, the deal was struck — a testament to his persistence inside and outside the ring.