By Chris Williams: Angel Garcia thinks it could end badly for Terence Crawford if he chooses to take a fight with UFC star Conor McGregor in a cage match under MMA rules.
Garcia says it could be dangerous for Crawford if he faces a highly skilled fighter like McGregor in the octagon, since he wouldn’t be able to keep from grabbed. Once McGregor gets his hands on Crawford, he could bend his elbow or use some other submission hold to finish him.
Crawford’s promoter Bob Arum says he’s going to speak to UFC president Dana White about setting up 2 fights between Terence and former featherweight and lightweight UFC champion McGregor. Most boxing fans give Arum next to no chance of setting up a fight between WBO welterweight champion Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) and the superstar McGregor, let alone 2 fights.
McGregor wants to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, and he’s got a better than average shot at getting one of those fights in 2020. It goes without saying that McGegor will opt to fight Mayweather or Pacquiao over Crawford. For Arum to setup a fight between Crawford and McGregor, he’ll likely need to wait until 2021, after Pacquiao or Mayweather has taken on the UFC fighter this year.
Crawford making mistake if he faces McGregor in cage
“I feel sorry or Crawford,” said Angel to Fighthype when asked about Terence’s promoter Arum wanting to put him in with McGregor in an MMA fight. ‘Listen, it’s a totally different page, bro. I did a little bit of Taekwondo when I was younger. You never did it, and you never got kicked in the face.
“It’s a different page, bro. It’s like McGregor coming over to boxing,” said Angel. “You see how he looked with Floyd [Mayweather Jr.], and Floyd dominating him. If they [MMA fighters] catch you in a clinch, and they’re twisting your elbow that way, that’s dangerous, bro. It’s very dangerous.
“For an MMA fighter to come over to boxing, at worse, they’re losing,” said Angel. If you come over to MMA, they’re going to embarrass the f— out of you. It’s going to be that quick,” said Angel when asked if you put a college wrestler in with a boxer in an MMA fight, how quick would it take for the wrestler to take down the boxer. “When they shoot you, they shoot you were they can throw your balance off. It’s easy from the outside, but it’s not,” said Angel.
Considering the amount of money Crawford would get in a fight with McGregor under MMA rules, I don’t think he’ll mind too much of getting beaten up by him. Crawford is said to have a background in high school wrestling, but that’s not the same as dealing with an elite level MMA fighter like McGregor.
Unless Crawford was a State wrestling champion in high school, he’s not going to be able to deal with all the submission holds, kicks and elbows that McGregor would be using against him.
Danny Garcia would fight MMA guy in boxing match
“If it’s fight, yeah,” said Angel when asked if Danny Garcia would be willing to fight an MMA guy. “We’re not going to make that deal [to fight in the octagon]. We’re not doing that. It takes years. If you go in boxing now, and train for six months and get in the ring with somebody. But if you go in there with a [MMA] guy that has been doing it for 20 years, unless you’re naturally gifted [you’re going to get destroyed].
“MMA is a difficult sport. I respect those guys,” Angel continued. “I’m not messing with them. You walk around with your ears all beat up. Imagine that. Someone grips you like that, and you can’t get out, and your ear is ripping. Manny [Pacquiao] had a great performance against [Keith] Thurman. He looked great, but how many more does he have like that. I’m not hating on him. Just saying.
“He’s 40-years-old right now,” Angel said on Pacquiao. “I’m not saying he’s old right now, but he made a lot of money. One punch can change your life, bro. Not only one punch, but you can fly out of the ring. Look at Bernard [Hopkins]. In his last fight [against Joe Smith Jr.]. He fell out of the ring, and he should have been paralyzed.
“If he had fell and ran into a chair, and his body went that way, it could have snapped his neck,” Angel said about Hopkins. “Remember the man, Superman [Christopher Reeves]. He fell off of a horse and got paralyzed. People don’t see the danger. Bernard was what? 51 when he did it. I’m like, ‘Why, bro?’ He flew out the damn ring. Your reflexes aren’t there no more,” said Angel.
If Garcia wants to fight an MMA guy under the rules of boxing, he’s got a lot of different fighters he can choose from.
Angel impressed with Jeison Rosario
“Danny’s happy at 150,” said Angel Garcia to Fighthype on Garcia’s fight with Redkach this Saturday. “We’re ready, bro. Rosario, I seen that kid fight before. I told the matchmaker, ‘Whoa, who got him that fight?” said Angel about Julian Williams making a voluntary defense against Jeison Rosario.
“I said, ‘that’s a tough fight. That guy can really crack,’ but they said they wanted that fight. So I would have never [made that fight]. I’m not saying he can’t handle it, but in your own hometown for your first defense, I ain’t getting anybody that can crack like that.
“I’ve seen him fight before, and I knew what he was coming to do,” said Angel on Rosario. “He’s [Rosario] like Danny. He’ll beat you up slowly. Every punch will hurt you. They’re dangerous fighters,” said Angel.
If Danny Garcia (35-2, 21 KOs) moves up to 154 like he’s talking about in the near future, then perhaps he can challenge IBF/WBA junior middleweight champion Jeison Rosario (20-1-1, 14 KOs) for his titles. Garcia wants to become a three-division world champion, and the 24-year-old Rosario would be an excellent choice for him to fight.
Last week, Rosario pulled off a big upset in stopping IBF/WBA 154-lb champion Julian ‘J-Rock’ Williams in the 5th round on January 18 in Philadelphia. This was supposed to be an easy voluntary defense for J-Rock, but Rosario proved to be more than he bargained for. The punching power and the youth of Rosario might be too much for Danny ‘Swift’ to deal with if he moves up to 154 to challenge for a world title.