In this episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, I sit down with one of the greatest fighters of all time, Jermain "The Beast" Crawford. We talk about his career, how he got to where he is now, and what it takes to be the best at what he does. We also discuss his recent victory over Errol Spence and how he went from being overlooked to being the number 1 pound for pound fighter in the game. I think you're going to get a lot out of this episode and I hope you enjoy it! -Joe Rogan -J.J. Rocha -Terrence Crawford -Canelo Alvarez -Earl Spence -Abrams -Kiramode -Crawford -Mayweather -Hayes -Sparring -Manny Pacquiao -Punisher -Golov -Spence & much more, we talk about a variety of topics including: -What it's like being the man in the boxing world -How he got the nickname The Beast -The Beast What it means to be the man -Why he thinks he s the best in the business -What he s going to do in the future -Who he s looking forward to in the next fight -How his next fight is going to be next? -Where he s gonna be -And so much more! - -and much more. - and much, much more... I hope that you enjoy this one! . Thanks for tuning into the pod The Joe Rogans Experience and I really appreciate it . . . - Thank you for tuning in! & Thank you so much for listening to the show! Love ya :D ! -Tune in!! Cheers, Cheers , Cheers! :) -JOSH -Jon "The Brujor - Tom "The King of the Pound for Pound" -Davids Podcast -John "The Big Dawgs" -JOE Rogan Show -Sam "The Irishman" ( ) @ , Jake "The Boy Who Couldn't See It podcast Podcast JOE ROGAN SHOW
00:00:17.000You have been the man for a long time.
00:00:19.000But I think two weeks ago everybody realized it.
00:00:23.000Yeah, everybody give me my recognition now and everybody give me my flowers.
00:00:28.000So it's a wonderful thing that I had to fight to, you know, get everybody approval.
00:00:35.000Well, it's tricky in boxing sometimes because sometimes it's difficult to make those matchups happen in a dream matchup like that between two undefeated world champions and for you to dominate the way you did because a lot of people had that like a pick-em fight like a lot of people didn't know how to call it but You just fucking ran that fight.
00:01:12.000I mean, just the way you controlled, the way you switched things up, the way you controlled the pace of the fight, the defense, your defense was on point.
00:01:22.000Those hooks that you were landing in close were magnificent.
00:01:27.000I mean, I'm sure you appreciate it, I'm sure you watched it a bunch of times, but man, that was like a real, because it was such a mainstream fight, such a huge fight where everybody was paying attention to it and talking about it, even casuals.
00:01:39.000That they got to see you perform that way and you know now it's like there's no dispute You're the number one pound for pound guy on earth.
00:01:46.000Yeah That's something that I got a credit to my coaches, you know because we drill everything that you seen Fight night we drilled it time and time again time and time again, so it was it was It came natural and easy for me when the fight came.
00:02:08.000You know, like I said, only thing they kept saying, how he's going to beat me is because he's bigger and he's stronger.
00:03:01.000Errol Spence is the most fundamentally sound fighter in the game, so that's why everybody was picking him, but I was favorite in Vegas, so Vegas must have had it right.
00:03:16.000Yeah, well, the wise people picked you as a favorite, you know, just based on your accomplishments.
00:03:22.000It's not like Errol Spence wasn't a great fighter.
00:03:24.000He's a great fighter, but It's so interesting when you watch a great fighter against what I believe is an all-time great.
00:03:31.000There's just levels upon levels upon levels upon levels.
00:03:36.000And right now, you're at the top of the fucking mountain.
00:03:57.000There was a point in time where I was like, you know, I shifted gears and I shifted my mind off of Errol Spence because I didn't feel like the fight was going to happen.
00:04:10.000But once I left top rank and we started negotiating, I was like, oh, well, maybe this fight will happen.
00:04:19.000Then once I fought Abanesian because the conversations and everything that we was talking about to get the fight done, it wasn't lining up to what I wanted.
00:04:33.000I decided to take another fight, and then I came back to the table and like, hey, listen, let's get this fight made.
00:04:40.000And at that point in time, things wasn't going how I would have liked it to go, so I just hit up Spence like, hey, man, listen, man.
00:04:50.000If me and you're going to fight, me and you're going to get this done because, you know, there's a lot of people that are blocking the fight.
00:05:59.000I went up to them all, you know, at that time.
00:06:02.000And I wasn't able to get in the ring with any of them.
00:06:06.000And at that point in time, they was calling Errol Spence the boogeyman.
00:06:10.000And my reply was, how is he the boogeyman when I'm chasing him?
00:06:18.000I just wanted to prove to the world that I was better than what they say I was because given the fact that How great I looked against each opponent.
00:06:31.000They say, oh, well, he wasn't nothing or he was this, he was that because how talented I am.
00:06:37.000So they didn't want to give me no credit because I passed all my tests with flying colors.
00:06:44.000So it was great to get in the ring with Errol Spence Jr. and do the same thing, if not better, than I did for the past opponents that I faced.
00:07:04.000It's just he's so much better than everybody else that he was making everybody else look like they weren't any good.
00:07:10.000But those were world championship caliber fighters and Roy was just lighting them up.
00:07:15.000Sometimes when a fighter eclipses everyone else and reaches the pinnacle, That's the criticism they face until there's an undeniable moment.
00:07:45.000I was happy just I had to prove myself, you know, to the world, how great I knew I was.
00:07:51.000But at the same time, I was kind of disappointed at the same time that it took this long for me to get my recognition and for me to get a big marquee fight of this status at 35 years old.
00:09:48.000You know, so I already knew how he fought.
00:09:52.000I just watched probably like two fights of his just to get a feel for what he liked to do, what he don't like, the things that, you know, I can capitalize on.
00:10:22.000Some people like to watch film to where they feel as if they know what their opponent's going to do, when they're going to do it, because they got certain habits to identify when they're going to throw a punch.
00:11:04.000I let my coaches, they do the studying, and then they come up with a plan, and then they shoot me the plan to win, and we just go from there.
00:11:17.000When you switch, because you're, in my opinion, the best ever at switching from Orthodox to Southpaw since Marvin Hagler.
00:14:14.000And that's when I got the left stronger.
00:14:16.000Because at first, when I go southpaw, it was only my right, my right, my right.
00:14:23.000Then when my hand got messed up, I just started working on the left, and it started getting stronger and stronger, and I started getting more accurate, because at first, just throw it just to be throwing it.
00:14:33.000And then, you know, it just got to a point where they both, my left was actually way stronger than my right when it came back, so I had to get my right back stronger.
00:14:45.000It's crazy that you have that option, because that's such an amazing advantage.
00:14:49.000To be able to fight just as comfortably from orthodox or southpaw.
00:16:23.000And for Spence, you know, who always fights Southpaw, like, to see you as a Southpaw, too, like, probably created a little bit of an adjustment for him.
00:17:44.000But now that you've accomplished this and now that you're the first man ever to be undisputed in two different weight classes, What are the offers now?
00:19:17.000But I'm saying, what would they say, though?
00:19:21.000Three-time undisputed champion and a smaller fighter that went up three weight divisions to conquer one of the baddest mans besides himself that's been doing it for probably longer than me.
00:19:36.000So you said 68, but you mean 54, right?
00:24:12.000Like, if I wanted to show someone a boxing match, I would show a fight like that.
00:24:16.000Like, this is what I love about boxing.
00:24:18.000Like, this man is right in front of that dude, and he's rolling with every shot, he's picking off every shot the other dude throws at him, and he's countering with, like, split-second timing.
00:26:30.000Because the experience at the time, you know...
00:26:34.000You gotta understand, I came from fighting six-round fights, you know, to a ten-round fight on HBO when I got the Bredis Persky fight.
00:26:48.000So then I fight him, then I fight another guy for an intern, the NABO, and then I fight for a title eliminator in Klimov, and then I fight Ricky Burns.
00:27:01.000And then I come back and fight Gamboa when I become champion.
00:27:05.000And Gamboa was labeled the next Floyd Mayweather.
00:27:10.000You know, everybody had Gamboa at a high rating, you know, so he's Olympic gold medal, you know.
00:27:19.000He had the experience over me, and so I think I learned a lot in that fight, and that's what made it hard because that was something that I never experienced in a fighter before, so it was a great learning experience.
00:27:35.000That's one of the most interesting things about watching a very talented fighter.
00:27:39.000Is seeing how they respond to the next level of opposition and the next level of challenges.
00:27:46.000Like you're saying, going up from 6 rounds to 8 rounds to 10 to 12, and seeing the different caliber of competition.
00:27:54.000You know, when you look at, like, a boxer's career, It's interesting because when they're kind of at the end of the line in their late 30s, it's the time when they have the most experience.
00:28:08.000They know the most, but their body doesn't really perform as well anymore.
00:30:05.000So when you say, like, for Bernard, like, he preserved his body, I know you're very disciplined.
00:30:11.000And I know that, like, do you ever take time, like, after a big fight like that, where you go off the rails and eat pizza every day and go crazy?
00:31:13.000And everybody's like, why would he do that?
00:31:15.000But then I talked to a nutritionist and he's like, it's actually after a very hard workout, like sparring and hitting the bag, it's actually a good way to replenish glucose.
00:31:24.000Yeah, that's probably why I always was drinking it, you know, and cutting weight.
00:31:30.000I don't know why, when I'm cutting weight, I be like, alright.
00:31:33.000Even though pop gonna make me more thirsty, I be like, I need a Sprite.
00:33:41.000No, I just, you know, take, you know, just a little colon cleanse, dietary, not like supplements or stuff like that, like just stuff that...
00:35:59.000So it's sad for Anthony Joshua to, you know, go through those things that I'm training for this fighter and then he popped down, boom, I'm hit with.
00:36:56.000In the history of the heavyweight division, we have some giant punchers, Ernie Shavers, George Foreman, Mike Tyson, but I put Deontay at the top of the heap.
00:37:46.000And then he took that strategy into the second fight.
00:37:50.000He realized that Deontay does not fight as well when you're going after him.
00:37:54.000And so then he just dominates the second fight and dominates the third.
00:37:58.000But in the third, when he got rocked once so hard, you could watch the ripple, the shockwave go down his body, and it was jiggling his fat.
00:39:38.000Well, listen, I believe firmly that if Tyson Fury learned wrestling and learned Muay Thai when he was younger, just like John did, he would be a world champion.
00:40:02.000And he has the highest octagon IQ. He's the best at implementing his strategy and utilizing his reach and just figuring out how to get a hold of you.
00:43:20.000So like, if I was a manager of a fighter I would want fighters like your career where you're tested and you're facing ever-increasing challenges but it's calculated.
00:43:35.000It's calculated and you get lessons from each fight and then you build up to a point where you're ready to challenge for a title.
00:43:43.000Like, Jon Jones fought for the title when he was 22. I mean, it was a last-minute fight, Rashad Evans got hurt, and Jon Jones went in to fight Shogun.
00:43:52.000Jon was just so fucking talented, so above everybody else, that he dominated that fight and walked away the world champion and destroyed Shogun.
00:44:00.000He opened up the fight with a flying knee.
00:44:03.00022 years old, first title fight, opens up with a flying knee.
00:44:22.000But I'm not talking about that aspect of...
00:44:24.000I'm talking about the business side of it.
00:44:26.000Well, the business side, it speaks to that as well.
00:44:29.000Because for a fighter to get to a point where they're undefeated and they have a big name, then they start getting the big money.
00:44:37.000And then they're the headline of the card.
00:44:40.000You know, I think there's a lot of there's a lot of good in that There's a lot of good in preparing a fighter properly like you see a lot of fighters when they fight for a title They might have like 16-1 16-0 like people like undefeated records It's very rare that a UFC fighter gets all the way to a title fight without some losses and I think that also speaks to the style differences, the wrestling, the kickbox, all the different things that you might face inside the octagon and having to prepare for that.
00:45:08.000That's one thing I like about MMA. You know, those guys, they still, great fighters, they still get praise, you know, even though they probably got five losses.
00:48:17.000Yeah, I think that's why I said, you know...
00:48:21.000I love to hear the doubters, the naysayers, because I think it's something in me from my past trauma with my mom, you know, me trying to prove her wrong, you know, me fighting for her, you know, approval.
00:48:38.000So, you know, it goes back to when I was a kid when, you know, she would say, oh, man, you ain't gonna win it.
00:50:36.000You say something I don't like, I'm whooping your ass.
00:50:39.000You do something I don't like, I'm whooping your ass.
00:50:41.000So it was just like, everything that I was getting at home for getting in trouble, when I go out into the real world, I was, you know, doing the same thing that my mom was doing to me.
00:50:55.000When I get in trouble or say something or do something that she don't like, I was getting a whooping for it, you know?
00:51:25.000It's very rare that you have a great fighter that had this perfect upbringing where nothing ever went wrong, everything was fine, got everything they wanted, anything they needed.
00:51:35.000It seems like every fighter has to come.
00:51:38.000They have to overcome people downing them, people dismissing them.
00:52:53.000Even when we were talking about cars earlier when I was showing you the Barracuda, you're like, I don't drive any of my cars, I drive my truck.
00:52:58.000You just listen to all these cool cars you have, you just stay low-key.
00:53:40.000And I thrived on that, you know, because when it's all said and done, when all the money gone, when all the fans done chanting your name, Now who you really is.
00:53:54.000Now you gotta search and find the real you.
00:53:58.000But if the real you been there all along, you gonna be happy.
00:54:04.000You ain't gonna have to, you know, go through therapy.
00:54:08.000You ain't gonna have to be buying friends.
00:54:11.000You ain't gonna be having to stay in the sport to hear that chant again.
00:54:15.000So when you walk away from the sport, you gonna walk away from the sport as a man with your head high and you just gonna wave.
00:57:16.000So, if it's not, that's why I said, if Charlo move up in weight and they strip him for his belt, there's no need for me and Charlo to fight because he's not undisputed.
01:00:59.000You know, I was just like, man, the last few days I was like, man, I don't know if it's God talking to me or what, but that's a fight that if he win, if Canelo win, then...
01:01:13.000Yeah, I'm going to try to pursue that.
01:03:28.000I love when someone just rises to the top of A shark-infested pool, because that's what boxing is.
01:03:37.000When you're at your level, and when you can perform that way against a guy like Errol Spence, against a guy who's an undefeated, elite champion, and for you to perform that way.
01:03:48.000That's just what, to me, what boxing is all about.
01:03:50.000When one person shows that there are levels upon levels upon levels upon levels.
01:03:57.000You know, and then it puts you in this category where people go, okay, well, what other champions can move around in weight classes or go up or come down?
01:04:06.000Like, you know, I know there's been a lot of discussion about different people from different weight classes coming up to you.
01:04:12.000Is there anything else that's interesting to you other than Canelo or Jamel?
01:05:15.000Looking back at Floyd's career, him coming up in the era that he came up in, he had all them champions that he was able to fight.
01:05:27.000That's what led him to be so great because he fought the most champions, beat the most champions, got the most money for beating the most champions.
01:05:40.000So it was just like, man, he had this guy, this guy, this guy, this guy, this guy.
01:05:44.000Back to back, the fight, one after one.
01:05:49.000When I was coming at the peak of my career, they all retired.
01:07:40.000Because he called himself the big fish.
01:07:43.000You know, Errol said he was the big fish and I said we was going to fry him.
01:07:48.000We was going to reel him in, we was going to put him on the bank, we was going to gut him, we was going to fillet him, then we was going to fry him.
01:08:45.000I can't tell a person that's been judging probably longer than I've been boxing what he's basing his rounds on or why he give what round to who.
01:09:04.000We can argue all day, but that ain't going to change the results.
01:09:16.000Yeah, that's what's unfortunate, is that it was such a great fight, but so many people thought the decision wasn't right, that it sort of diminished the accomplishments of both fighters.
01:09:25.000Because Devin Haney fought a brilliant fight, and so did Lomachenko.
01:09:28.000I mean, Lomachenko turned the clock back.
01:13:01.000I know you're going 12, but you got to think you're going three more because, you know, the slightest slip, and we've seen it, you know, time and time again.
01:15:38.000I wasn't, you know, in the negotiations, but, you know, it should be some type of forum where, you know, these fights should be mandatory to happen so you can clean up the sport of boxing and it can only be one champion in one division.
01:16:19.000You know, we put our life on the line to go out here and entertain, you know, the people.
01:16:27.000And once we're done entertaining, we leave home, you know, and we come home not the same fighter that we once was when we left.
01:16:39.000You know, and it's heartbreaking to see a lot of these old-time fighters You know, that speaking impaired and, you know, can't enjoy the fruit of their labor or just flat out broke.
01:16:54.000And they gave their life to the sport and doesn't have anything to show for it.
01:17:02.000I think, you know, we need to create something to where At least the fighters can you know live comfortable after the sport of boxing given if you know something dramatic was to happen or you know you didn't put in a certain amount of years in a sport that you can pay in on your own to have you a 401k so when you retire you got some type of income coming in because When you're getting that much
01:17:32.000money so fast and so frequently, you're just spending.
01:17:36.000You're just spending because in your mind, I'm going to fight again and I'm going to get it again.
01:17:41.000I'm going to fight again, then I'm going to get it again.
01:17:44.000But then you start living off of that.
01:17:46.000And then once you get to the end, tail end of your career, you're like, damn, I didn't spend it.
01:17:51.000Millions and millions, and I got a couple of more fights.
01:17:54.000Now you're struggling, you know, because you got to pay taxes.
01:17:58.000If not, they come to take everything you got.
01:18:00.000And then, you know, you pay taxes, now you got not even half of that.
01:18:05.000And now you're looking like, damn, I got to make this stretch.
01:18:08.000And then you ain't got no work ethic skills because you've been boxing your whole life.
01:18:13.000You didn't go to college to get no curricular skills in other lanes.
01:19:43.000You know, so it's like, I'm paying for you to come out here and watch me fight to give me a belt that, you know what I mean, I'm already paying for.
01:22:47.000You know, because the system is you get to a certain point in time, you're a champion, make as much money as you possibly can, you retire, and then there's no more money.
01:22:55.000And Floyd's like, let me just box some people that have zero chance.
01:23:20.000That's an interesting thing because you got a guy in Francis Ngannou who was the heavyweight champ, retired from the UFC, left the UFC as the champ, but has zero professional boxing fights.
01:24:30.000You know, he could have a career as a heavyweight boxer because he hit so fucking hard.
01:24:35.000If they built him up and he starts fighting guys and, you know, different styles and gets to the point where he's really got experience a few years down the line, he could fight world-class fighters.
01:24:45.000I think he could fight good boxers if he learns those lessons.
01:25:53.000You know, that's why I say a lot of people, they look at a lot of these boxers that have a loss and then they just think they're not good or, you know, great.
01:26:06.000You know what these fighters go through in the MMA and boxing?
01:26:12.000Fighters go through the most to just entertain and put food on the tables for their family and their children, take care of them, and they don't get the recognition or respect that they deserve.
01:26:24.000You see all these other sports, they get praise, but boxing and MMA is, man, that shit is hard.
01:26:34.000It's like you versus one man brutally trying to kill each other for some money.
01:29:28.000It's always the real, real short kids that's talking about they want to go to the NBA. And I always get mad when the people say, you can be whatever you want to be.
01:33:49.000A lot of people be dehydrating themselves to the fact where, you know, they losing too much water in their brain and then once they get hit, their brain is knocking against nothing, just your skull.
01:34:05.000And then that snap, that's what knocks them out.
01:34:10.000Yeah, you see a lot of that in MMA. Guys cut a tremendous amount of weight in MMA. Man, you know, I got friends that's in the MMA, and I've never seen somebody lose so much weight in one day just to make weight.
01:36:52.000And they sneaky too, because when you're not used to getting kicked, you know what I mean, you can think somebody's about to punch you and they boom, boom!
01:37:00.000And you block You don't block kicks like you block punches.
01:46:49.000It's just very impressive to be able to pull that off on a guy like Errol Spence.
01:46:53.000Yeah, that's something that me and my coaches was working on, shortening up your shots.
01:46:59.000Because if you're watching a few of my past fights, I kind of open up.
01:47:05.000I kind of throw my shots too wide, leave myself open.
01:47:10.000So that was something that we was working on in camp.
01:47:14.000And I always told the reporters and people that interviewed me, it ain't about Spence.
01:47:20.000I don't got to change anything up for Spence.
01:47:23.000I just got to make sure I'm prepared and I'm 110% ready for myself.
01:47:30.000And all I got to do is be myself and then I believe I'll be anybody.
01:47:35.000Was there ever a time where you wondered or were you worried that you weren't going to get that big fight?
01:47:40.000As you're like 35 years old, you become 36, 36, and then you're in a position like Artur Beterbiev, who's 19-0, 19 knockouts, everyone's fucking terrified of the guy, can't get a big fight.
01:47:54.000Just can't get that big marquee fight.
01:47:57.000I was, like I told you, I was in a process of thinking about retiring, you know, because I was just like, man, I'm not going to get that Spence fight, you know, but it's worth a shot, you know, to go back and try to see if we can land that fight.
01:48:18.000But I'm not about to get, you know, I'm not about to just take anything just for the fight.
01:48:24.000You know, a lot of fans and a lot of people in the media, they felt as if I should just take anything, but they're not the one fighting.
01:48:33.000They're not the one that, you know, been doing this their whole life, so for them to tell me, just take this or just take that, you know, Given if I was to put them in the same predicament that I'm in and all the accolades that I have, would they do the same thing or would they just take whatever somebody's just going to give them?
01:48:58.000You know, I had to stand for something.
01:49:01.000To get to a point in my life where, you know, I can get everything that I want.
01:49:07.000You know, and I feel like me standing my ground and staying firm and true to myself and not switching up and not, you know, overdoing it led me to this moment right here.
01:49:28.000One of the things that happens with some boxers is they leave a lot in the gym in sparring sessions and that they just spar too hard.
01:49:38.000They have too many hard sparring sessions.
01:49:52.000You can't replace, you know, I would say, like, tech sparring and, like, soft sparring from, you know, a comparison to get ready for a fight.
01:51:14.000I'm a firm believer in listening to my body.
01:51:17.000You know, so I've been doing this a long time.
01:51:19.000My coaches, they've been doing this just as long or longer or BOMAG longer.
01:51:25.000Well, we all started, you know, this journey on when I was 2008 when I turned pro.
01:51:34.000So, they've been around me since I was a kid, so they know when my body is breaking down or when I'm complaining about something, Bo would be like, alright, well, we're going to do this today.
01:52:50.000You know, so it's very important that you be honest with your coaches as well.
01:52:55.000Because a lot of people, you know, they tend to keep certain things away from them.
01:53:00.000And then when things go left, then the coaches is to blame when the coaches wasn't aware of everything that was going on with you.
01:53:10.000So if you got, you know, injuries or you're not feeling well or, you know, something's not right or something's going on, as a team, you got to let your team know because that's why they there.
01:53:23.000And that's why they're able to pick up on certain things like, you know, you're overtraining or you're not, you know, getting enough rest.
01:53:32.000What time are you going to sleep at night?
01:53:33.000You know, you need to put the phone down at this time and, you know, just all that.
01:53:40.000Do you monitor your resting heart rate, your heart rate variability?
01:53:45.000Yeah, I do all that, you know, in the mornings.
01:53:48.000So when I get up in the morning, we put it on my finger, then we monitor that, and then it takes your blood, oxygen, your oxygen level, your heart rate, and all that stuff.
01:54:02.000And so from there, you can say, okay, I'm a little tired.
01:57:01.000I was trying to put my hands under my armpits and I was just shaking like this.
01:57:08.000I was just like, I'm about to get out.
01:57:10.000They was motivating me and I was like, man, this is the hardest thing that I ever did because I'm anemic so me and Cole don't You're anemic?
01:57:30.000So, I gotta go from the cold, then they put me in the hot, and then it felt like needles was shocking my body, like needles was going through.