Crawford On Mayweather's Financial Troubles

Terence Crawford is watching what is happening to Floyd Mayweather and using it as a lesson he intends to make sure others hear.

Crawford addressed the mounting financial and legal troubles surrounding the man who once defined boxing's relationship with money more explicitly than anyone in the sport's history.

"It's sad when you hear about the people that are coming at him and people calling him broke, which, Floyd ain't going to never be broke. You may have $200 million and they call you broke because you ain't at the status that you once were yesterday that you are today. But Floyd has an expensive lifestyle, and if you're not bringing in money, just as much money as you're spending, then of course you're heading down the wrong path.

"So it's definitely a lesson learned to these young, up-and-coming athletes — and not just boxing, just athletes around the world — that tomorrow's not promised, so you need to make the right investments, make the right decisions with your money. Because you can use it as a tool to make money, but at the same time, it can hinder you and you can burn yourself at the end of the day thinking that you're going to get another check tomorrow. So you've got to plan for the future, and some people don't do that,” Crawford

Crawford retired last September following his victory over Canelo Alvarez, walking away unbeaten as a five-division champion and the sport's consensus pound-for-pound number one. He earned hundreds of millions across a career that ended on his terms, at the top, with his record and his finances intact.

Mayweather's position has deteriorated across multiple fronts simultaneously. A $7.3 million IRS lien over alleged unpaid taxes. Two felony charges related to a $200,000 bad check. A lawsuit from promoter CSI Entertainment alleging he pocketed $4.65 million in advances for fights against Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao before reneging on both. The Zambidis exhibition cancelled by legal injunction. The Pacquiao rematch on Netflix thrown into doubt before it could be formalised.

Crawford is pointing at something real and asking the next generation to pay attention before the lesson needs to be learned firsthand.