The Joe Rogan ExperienceJRE MMA Show #76 with Terence Crawford
CHAPTERS
- 0:01 – 2:41
Crawford’s stance-switching style and reading opponents in real time
Joe opens by praising Terence Crawford’s rare ability to switch stances fluidly and use it to solve opponents mid-fight. Crawford explains he developed it naturally as a kid and refined it through constant practice, using early rounds to collect data and find timing.
- •Why Crawford switches stances so seamlessly (natural instinct + years of practice)
- •Early coaching pushback: “master one style first” vs committing to switching
- •Crawford’s first-round approach: sometimes pressure-test, sometimes diagnose
- •Rogan’s emphasis on timing and the beauty of clean reads/execution in boxing
- 2:41 – 4:20
Boxing heroes, film study, and staying out of trouble through the gym
Crawford names the fighters who shaped his style—especially Floyd Mayweather and Roy Jones Jr.—and describes a formative routine of watching boxing tapes. He credits his coach Mitch Minor with keeping him focused and off the streets, framing it as a life-changing investment.
- •Key influences: Floyd Mayweather, Roy Jones Jr., Pernell Whitaker
- •Learning through tape study as a young fighter
- •Coach Mitch Minor’s role in structure, discipline, and mentorship
- •Rogan reflects on boxing’s cultural reverence and the current era’s depth
- 4:20 – 8:03
Legacy talk: Hall of Fame confidence and the Spence fight business barrier
Rogan asks if Crawford recognizes his historic status; Crawford says he’s Hall-of-Fame bound with or without an Errol Spence Jr. fight. The conversation shifts to why the superfight hasn’t happened—promoters, networks, and egos more than lack of money.
- •Crawford’s view of his résumé vs typical Hall of Fame benchmarks
- •Why “boxing needs” Crawford vs Spence (and why fans need the matchup)
- •Top Rank vs PBC, network politics, and who controls the pot
- •Promotion vs fighting: Crawford prefers training; Bo-Mack offers to talk
- 8:03 – 11:24
After retirement: giving back through a home gym and working with kids
Crawford says he’s not interested in promoting after he retires—he wants to invest in his gym and his family. He and Bo-Mack joke about how frustrating it can be teaching fundamentals to fighters who don’t listen or haven’t mastered basics.
- •Post-career vision: focus on his gym, young fighters, and his five kids
- •Why coaching beginners is hard: repeating simple fundamentals
- •Crawford’s presence in the gym raises everyone’s level and urgency
- •Bo-Mack on how elite champions create extra motivation around them
- 11:24 – 16:27
Work ethic as the separator: lessons from Floyd and building a complete engine
Crawford and Rogan agree there are no shortcuts: elite boxing requires relentless training even when you don’t feel like it. Crawford highlights Mayweather’s extreme consistency and explains his own broad approach—yoga, swimming, strength work—plus recovery preferences.
- •Mayweather’s influence: constant training, odd-hour workouts, unmatched discipline
- •Crawford’s mindset: surpass predecessors without copying them
- •Cross-training: yoga, swimming, strength and conditioning, stair work
- •Recovery: massages, Epsom salt baths, cryotherapy (but not ice baths)
- 16:27 – 18:11
Kids’ sports, MMA vs boxing damage, and how fighters know when to stop
Crawford discusses steering his kids toward sports with better financial upside and compares the risk profiles of MMA and boxing. He also talks candidly about retirement planning—setting an age window rather than waiting for a perfect “sign.”
- •Why wrestling/MMA pay concerns him for his kids (risk vs reward)
- •MMA as higher injury risk; boxing as higher head-trauma risk
- •Fighter mortality and the reality that it’s “not worth your life”
- •Retirement planning: aiming for mid-30s and ideally leaving on top
- 18:11 – 24:34
Marvin Hagler stories: walking away, Italian action movies, and cold-weather grit
Rogan and Crawford riff on Marvin Hagler as a stance-switching legend who famously retired and never returned. They then connect old-school toughness to winter running and extreme training rituals, including Crawford’s own cold-weather sessions and “hardcore” resets.
- •Hagler’s controversial Leonard loss and decision to retire for good
- •Hagler’s unexpected second act as an action star in Italy
- •Cold-weather training as mental armor and a toughness cue
- •Crawford’s own intense moments: blizzard shadowboxing and post-Thanksgiving runs
- 24:34 – 39:46
Altitude camp in Colorado Springs: the Manitou steps, routines, and planning
Crawford explains why he bases camps in Colorado Springs—altitude benefits, focus, and a controlled environment with everything set up. Bo-Mack details how they build a calendar, iterate by trial and error, and manage the fine line between pushing and overtraining.
- •Manitou Incline routine and why it’s brutal at altitude
- •Crawford’s camp location choice: distance from distractions and negativity
- •Training planning: month-ahead calendars and multi-coach collaboration
- •Old-school feel-based training vs modern strength/conditioning additions
- •Managing overtraining: coach-fighter trust and pulling back at the right time
- 39:46 – 47:46
Heavyweight boxing’s resurgence: Wilder’s power, Ruiz-Joshua drama, and testing
The conversation shifts to the modern heavyweight spotlight, praising Deontay Wilder’s freakish knockout power and the division’s renewed excitement. They also discuss Ruiz vs Joshua negotiations, concerns about supplements/testing, and how muscle mass can hurt endurance.
- •Why heavyweights are the focal point again (Wilder, Fury, Ruiz, Joshua)
- •Wilder as a ‘unicorn’: late start, Olympic bronze, extraordinary KO ratio
- •Ruiz-Joshua location disputes and concerns over testing abroad
- •Crawford’s VADA testing experience and year-round testing reality
- •Strength vs stamina: diminishing returns of excessive muscle mass
- 47:46 – 52:28
Rumors, publicity stunts, and Rogan’s Fear Factor behind-the-scenes chaos
A side tangent becomes a comedic segment about how fight rumors spread and how staged antics can look real. Rogan shares wild Fear Factor stunt logistics and why production wouldn’t let him participate due to insurance, then they compare it to Jackass-style risk-taking.
- •How rumors travel and why ‘everyone heard it’ doesn’t mean it’s true
- •Shannon Briggs’ Klitschko trolling—staged or opportunistic?
- •Rogan’s Fear Factor stories: dangerous stunts and production structure
- •Jackass discussion: why those injuries were real and the risks keep compounding
- 52:28 – 56:54
The Benavidez grudge: trash talk, emotional control, and tactical adjustments
Rogan asks about Crawford’s satisfaction stopping Benavidez after years of talk. Crawford explains he had to manage anger, stay patient, and adjust for a tall, long counterpuncher by building combinations and picking shots rather than rushing.
- •Years of Benavidez accusations (“ducking”) and how it escalated
- •Why emotional control matters most when you want to hurt someone
- •Game plan vs a long counterpuncher: patience, timing, multi-shot sequences
- •Using reach and precision to ‘pick apart’ rather than brawl
- 56:54 – 1:02:57
Boxing’s TV shakeup and Pacquiao breakdown: commentary, judging, and matchups
They discuss the fragmentation of boxing broadcasting and the loss of HBO’s iconic commentary team. Crawford revisits the Horn–Pacquiao controversy and analyzes Pacquiao’s late-career brilliance, including the Thurman win and why a Crawford fight never materialized.
- •HBO’s exit and why the Lampley/Kellerman/Letterman era felt unmatched
- •Modern commentators: praise for Andre Ward and Tim Bradley
- •Rewatching Pacquiao–Horn: commentary bias vs what the tape shows
- •Pacquiao’s win over Thurman at 40 and his ‘spurts’ strategy
- •Why Crawford believes Pacquiao’s camp avoided making that fight
- 1:02:57 – 1:15:05
Competitive downtime: pool hustles, poker psychology, chess prep, and camp ‘daycare’
A playful segment covers pool skill and gambling culture, poker’s mental warfare, and chess as a training tool to sharpen thinking. Crawford and Bo-Mack describe how video games can turn a camp house into a competitive pressure cooker—fun, but sometimes combustible.
- •Pool formats (8-ball vs 9/10-ball) and why losing stings
- •Poker as a ‘psychological hustle’—reading people and disguising intent
- •Chess as mental training; Bo-Mack’s stories of Crawford’s competitiveness
- •Video games in camp: relaxation that can escalate into arguments
- •Camp culture: hard work balanced with mental decompression
- 1:15:05 – 1:25:29
Mental toughness, grief before big fights, and how their camp ramps intensity
Rogan asks about sports psychology; Crawford says his mental strength comes from lifelong hardship, including fresh family loss right before camp. They explain how camp is built in steps—pre-camp to peak—with Bo-Mack managing load and Crawford emphasizing conditioning as the non-negotiable edge.
- •No mental coach: resilience forged through real-life adversity
- •Crawford shares recent family death and staying focused despite grief
- •Training camp structure: pre-camp ramp, then progressive weekly additions
- •Crawford’s turning point: losing as a teen due to fatigue and vowing “never again”
- •Rogan on modern access: today’s fighters can learn from champions in real time
- 1:25:29 – 1:29:12
Staying grounded in Omaha: fame, jealousy, and what he actually spends on
Crawford describes living where he grew up, staying approachable, and dealing with envy and money requests. He talks about how people expect entourage behavior like Mayweather’s, but he prefers a low-key life—until the conversation turns to his love of old-school cars.
- •Why he still lives at home and how the community treats him
- •Managing jealousy, expectations, and people asking for money
- •Low-profile lifestyle vs ‘on TV’ promotional persona
- •Car enthusiasm: Monte Carlos, classics, and why originality costs a fortune
- 1:29:12 – 1:33:02
Fast toys and future tech: Teslas, the Dodge Demon, and the shift to electric
Rogan and Crawford compare classic muscle-car romance with modern electric speed. Crawford talks about driving Teslas and owning a Dodge Demon so powerful it required signing liability waivers, while Rogan argues electric performance is rewriting what “fast” even means.
- •Tesla acceleration and the surreal ‘no gears’ experience
- •Crawford’s Dodge Demon horsepower and dealership liability paperwork
- •Manual vs paddle shifters and why old-school feel still matters
- •Electric future vs gas convenience: charging time as the big hurdle
- 1:33:02 – 1:38:35
Fishing obsession: bowfishing, invasive carp, and chaos on the Missouri River
Crawford reveals his main splurge is fishing gear, especially bowfishing, describing waders, ponds, and targeting invasive species like grass carp. They watch and react to videos of Asian carp launching into boats, discussing how the fish overpopulate waterways and even injure people.
- •Bowfishing as Crawford’s favorite hobby and biggest spending category
- •Targeting invasive carp species and why removal matters
- •Asian carp behavior: jumping triggered by engine noise; dangerous impacts
- •Carp as ‘trash fish’ in the US vs prized sport fish in parts of Europe
- •Gar talk: difficult cleaning, odd anatomy, and regional differences (alligator gar)
