By: Sean Crose

“Nah,” recently retired all time great Terence Crawford told Channing Crowder on The Pivot podcast, “because now you’re selling your soul,” Crawford had been asked what kind of money would lure him back into the ring. When Crowder joked he’d take the serious money for another fight, Crawford made it clear that doing such things wasn’t his style.

“That’s you, ” Crawford continued. “Now we know your character…sometimes you look at people and be like, ‘Dang, man, you ain’t got no dignity, no morals.’ Come on, man. Like, what are you gonna stand for if everything is about money?” Crawford went on to make it clear that money was not the end-all be-all in his career, and certainly isn’t now.

“I never was in a sport because of money,” he said, “you know? Well, of course, I was in a sport to make money, but I wanted to be a world champion,” Crawford then made it clear that it was always about more than just earning a good living when it came to boxing.

“I wanted to do something that I set my sights out to do as a little boy,’ he stated, “and money wasn’t the motivation. Being a world champion was the motivation. Me accomplishing all the things that I’ve accomplished along the way on my journey.” The hard work certainly paid off for the Omaha native. “Then I became a world champion,” Crawford said, “and it was just like, man, all this other stuff is a cherry on the top. I did what I set my sights out to do.”

Crawford went on to tell Crowder that the fact he intends to remain retired is a mystery to some people. “A lot of people ask me, and they say, ‘Why are you retiring?’ You’ve got a lot more fighting why would I give it all to you, though? Why not take some more with me and use it for something else. You know, why not put all that energy into my kids or into something outside of boxing?”

Crawford obviously feels that there’s more to life than just what goes on in the ring. “I want to have a life outside of boxing,” he said. “I don’t want to be like those fighters who stayed in too long, and they can’t enjoy the fruits of their labor. They can’t enjoy playing with their family. They can’t enjoy being able to have a decent conversation. That played a part too.”