Terence Crawford Dismisses Ilia Topuria Challenge After His Victory
After Terence Crawford’s impressive victory over Canelo Álvarez, where he was crowned undisputed super middleweight champion, a new challenger has spoken up. However, Crawford shows no interest in this challenge. Ilia Topuria, undefeated UFC champion in two weight categories, has expressed his desire to test his skills in boxing and face Crawford, the undisputed champion in three divisions. Topuria used social media to suggest that he would knock out Crawford if they faced each other in the ring.Crawford responded by downplaying Topuria’s statements, calling him a “nobody” and stating that he is not at the level of Conor McGregor. During an appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show”, Crawford stated: “I definitely think he’s looking for attention. I definitely think he would get in the ring with me for the fight check. That’s what we all do it for, but at the same time, I don’t know what the hell he’s doing. I don’t know what he’s thinking. There’s nothing to talk about.” Crawford also mentioned that he has never seen Topuria fight and questioned why the UFC champion did not express his desire to fight him when they met at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas a few months ago. “When he saw me at the UFC, he came up to shake my hand and say hello. I didn’t even know who he was,” Crawford said. “But then I see him online talking about how he’s going to knock me out in the first round and this and that. And now this. Well, if you wanted to fight me, you had the opportunity to tell me, ‘Hey man, I want to fight you. What’s up?’ That’s fake.” Although cross-sport fights between boxing and MMA have generated financial benefits for the participants, Crawford sees no value in a fight with “El Matador” and dismissed any comparison to the 2017 matchup between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and McGregor. “What money would I get fighting him? Tell me how much I’m going to get fighting him?” Crawford asked. “He’s not even close to Conor McGregor’s level. Let’s be real. Enough is enough. Don’t even compare him to Conor… Like I said, I don’t know this guy. I’ve never seen this guy fight, and I watch a lot of MMA.” “Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe he’s a good fighter. I don’t know. But honestly, I’ve never seen this guy fight. And I’ve seen Conor McGregor fight many times… Don’t you ever try to say they’re on the same level.”First he calls me a drunk, then he uses MY song,” Topuria wrote on X. “Crawford, whenever you want, I’ll teach you how to dance that mariachi in the ring. And Canelo, I’ll save you a round after him.
Ilia Topuria
