Terence Crawford gives Conor McGregor the edge over Jake Paul when it comes to competing in the squared circle.<\/p>\n
During a Kick stream with Adin Ross<\/a>, Crawford was asked what he thought of McGregor\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n To date, that is the former UFC two-division champion\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Comparing the two, Crawford put McGregor over \u201cThe Problem Child.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMcGregor actually did\u2014to 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.<\/p>\n \u201cHim and Jake Paul\u2019s brother Logan did better, but they\u2019re both bigger than Floyd too, though.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s greats.<\/p>\n Jake\u2019s encounter with Joshua was an officially sanctioned pro bout, but again, the judges were not needed.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew what was going to happen. \u2026 Everybody in the world that knows boxing knows if it wasn\u2019t scripted, that he was getting knocked out,\u201d Crawford said.\u201c<\/p>\n Though Paul lasted more than five rounds with Joshua, the bout was mostly a farce, with Paul repeatedly diving for Joshua\u2019s legs to prevent being counter-punched whenever the fighters closed the distance. It was Paul\u2019s awkward strategy that prevented Joshua from ending the fight much earlier, in Crawford\u2019s opinion.<\/p>\n \u201cAJ was just trying to cut the ring\u2014well, he really wasn\u2019t trying to cut the ring off\u2014but he was just trying to catch up to him,\u201d Crawford said. \u201cJake is an athlete, so his movement was catching AJ off guard.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c[Paul is] definitely a better fighter now, for sure,\u201d Crawford added.<\/p>\n FOTY. Joshua Van vs. Brandon Royval took home Fight of the Year honors<\/a> for 2025.<\/p>\n SOTY. Costello Van Steenis took home Submission of the Year honors<\/a> for 2025.<\/p>\n Breakthrough. Joshua Van took home Breakthrough Fighter of the Year honors<\/a> for 2025.<\/p>\n Mad. Islam Makhachev responds to Ilia Topuria threatening Khabib Nurmagomedov: \u2018He\u2019s unhappy about something.\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Rivals. \u2018I hope he never loses\u2019<\/a>: Israel Adesanya reflects on rivalry with Alex Pereira.<\/p>\n SantaCon. Since TMR was off for Christmas, read this thing about Santas fighting each other<\/a>.<\/p>\n ICYMI, check out MMA Fighting\u2019s Year-End Awards Show for 2025.<\/p>\n MMA Fighting crashes the Submission Radio party!<\/p>\n There were some wild comebacks this year.<\/p>\n SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE<\/p>\n Can you heel hook a man without heels? Karate Combat seeks to find out.<\/p>\n Is peak AKA the best MMA team ever?<\/p>\n I\u2019m not going to lie, that\u2019s a pretty good poster. Don\u2019t book the fight, though.<\/p>\n Hope everyone had a happy and restful holiday break, and if you\u2019re still on vacation, then more power to you.<\/p>\n Get hyped for RIZIN\u2019s year-end show this week, and then look ahead to the UFC\u2019s return, now just a few short weeks away.<\/p>\n Take care of yourselves. \u2014 Lee<\/p>\n If you find something you\u2019d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee<\/a> or @JedKMeshew<\/a> on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, and like us on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n