Terence Crawford gives Conor McGregor the edge over Jake Paul when it comes to competing in the squared circle.
During a Kick stream with Adin Ross, Crawford was asked what he thought of McGregor’s famous crossover bout with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017. McGregor put on a competitive performance against the undefeated Mayweather before a Mayweather flurry in Round 10 prompted a referee stoppage.
To date, that is the former UFC two-division champion’s lone boxing bout. Paul, on the other
hand, has now competed 14 times as a pro. His most recent outing saw him take an enormous jump up in competition as he stepped into the ring with two-time heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshua, who knocked Paul out in the sixth round.
Comparing the two, Crawford put McGregor over “The Problem Child.”
“McGregor actually did—to me, he did real good against Floyd when he was boxing. He did better than I thought he would do. He did better than Jake Paul did against Anthony Joshua. And he landed some good shots on Floyd, so I have to say he did pretty good. He did better than I thought he would.
“Him and Jake Paul’s brother Logan did better, but they’re both bigger than Floyd too, though.”
Crawford referred to another recent Mayweather bout, which saw him face Logan Paul in an exhibition boxing match in 2021. The bout bout was not scored, so despite Mayweather having a clear advantage throughout the contest, Logan could at least lay claim to going eight rounds with one of boxing’s greats.
Jake’s encounter with Joshua was an officially sanctioned pro bout, but again, the judges were not needed.
“I knew what was going to happen. … Everybody in the world that knows boxing knows if it wasn’t scripted, that he was getting knocked out,” Crawford said.“
Though Paul lasted more than five rounds with Joshua, the bout was mostly a farce, with Paul repeatedly diving for Joshua’s legs to prevent being counter-punched whenever the fighters closed the distance. It was Paul’s awkward strategy that prevented Joshua from ending the fight much earlier, in Crawford’s opinion.
“AJ was just trying to cut the ring—well, he really wasn’t trying to cut the ring off—but he was just trying to catch up to him,” Crawford said. “Jake is an athlete, so his movement was catching AJ off guard.”
“[Paul is] definitely a better fighter now, for sure,” Crawford added.
TOP STORIES
FOTY. Joshua Van vs. Brandon Royval took home Fight of the Year honors for 2025.
SOTY. Costello Van Steenis took home Submission of the Year honors for 2025.
Breakthrough. Joshua Van took home Breakthrough Fighter of the Year honors for 2025.
Mad. Islam Makhachev responds to Ilia Topuria threatening Khabib Nurmagomedov: ‘He’s unhappy about something.’
Rivals. ‘I hope he never loses’: Israel Adesanya reflects on rivalry with Alex Pereira.
SantaCon. Since TMR was off for Christmas, read this thing about Santas fighting each other.
VIDEO STEW
ICYMI, check out MMA Fighting’s Year-End Awards Show for 2025.
MMA Fighting crashes the Submission Radio party!
Do try this at home?
DC got some scoops.
There were some wild comebacks this year.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Facts.
Amazing, Jared!
Also congrats!
Help the man out.
Can you heel hook a man without heels? Karate Combat seeks to find out.
Is peak AKA the best MMA team ever?
I’m not going to lie, that’s a pretty good poster. Don’t book the fight, though.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Hope everyone had a happy and restful holiday break, and if you’re still on vacation, then more power to you.
Get hyped for RIZIN’s year-end show this week, and then look ahead to the UFC’s return, now just a few short weeks away.
Take care of yourselves. — Lee
EXIT POLL
If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and like us on Facebook.
