There has been much speculation about the purse Terence Crawford received for his September 13 fight against Canelo Alvarez, in which he upset Canelo and thus received his undisputed super middleweight belts (although he was just stripped of his WBC belt on December 3).
Eyebrows were initially raised about Crawford’s fight purse when he said, “I got $10 million for that [Canelo] fight. I’m doing it for the opportunity, baby, the legacy. The legacy outweighs the money,” during a May appearance on the Ring Champs with Ak & Barak podcast.
There seemingly wouldn’t be any reason for Crawford to lie about the amount of money he was making. However, there are a few factors about why Crawford’s sentiment might not have been the complete truth. While the details of his contract aren’t public, one of these is that Crawford would only have been referring to his guaranteed base rate for entering the ring that night.
IMAGO / Hoganphotos
This would not have included any added revenue he received as a result of the views the fight got on Netflix, nor the cut he would have received from the gate at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena that night.
Therefore, even if one doesn’t factor in the lucrative opportunities that came as a byproduct of Crawford beating Canelo, it was still easy to assume that Crawford ultimately walked away with a whole lot more than $10 million.
WBC Reveals Terence Crawford’s Complete Purse For Canelo Alvarez Fight
In the press release announcing Crawford’s stripped WBC belt, it also revealed the amount Crawford allegedly earned for fighting Canelo.
It said that Crawford earned $50 million for fighting Canelo. One aspect of his ability to earn that much was that the WBC limited the typical 3% sanctioning fee to 0.6%, and most of that saved money went straight into Crawford’s bank account.
Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford on September 11, 2025. | IMAGO / Hoganphotos
$50 million is a whole lot more than Crawford said he would be making for the Canelo fight back in May.
Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn assessed how much Crawford missed out on by not accepting a Jake Paul fight during a November 21 interview with Fight Hub TV by saying, “If you’re Terence Crawford, to make this kind of money, he probably could have made more money to fight Jake Paul than Canelo. Whatever the offer was, I don’t know. But to make that kind of money, he had to beat one of the greatest fighters of our generation.”
Maybe Hearn knew that Crawford made $50 million to fight Canelo, and maybe he didn’t. Regardless, this money means Crawford is still in a good financial spot despite not fighting Jake Paul.
The Latest Boxing News
Eddie Hearn Reveals The ‘Script’ For Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua
Oleksandr Usyk Sends Jake Paul Ominous Prayer Before Anthony Joshua Fight
Ronda Rousey Reportedly In talks For Boxing Debut Against Undisputed Champion
Conor Benn Calls Out Next Targets As He Receives No. 1 Welterweight Ranking