Crawford Dismisses Topuria: “He’s Seeking Fame, He’s Not at the Level”

Terence Crawford Rejects Ilia Topuria Challenge

Following Terence Crawford’s impressive victory, who was crowned undisputed super-middleweight champion after defeating Canelo Álvarez, a new challenger has emerged. However, Crawford shows no interest in this challenge. Ilia Topuria, undefeated champion in two UFC divisions, 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 in a boxing ring. Crawford responded by calling him “delusional” and “drunk”. On Saturday, during the night of the fight, Topuria felt offended by Crawford’s entrance to the ring with the song “Canción del Mariachi” from the movie “Desperado”, a theme that Topuria also uses in his entrances to the octagon. Crawford downplayed the comparison in the press conference after the fight, but the UFC lightweight champion reacted on social media.

First he calls me a drunk, then he uses MY song,” Topuria said in a post 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

Crawford not only ignored Topuria’s comments, but also accused him of seeking attention and not being at Conor McGregor’s level.

“I definitely think he’s looking for attention,” Crawford said during an appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show” on Monday. “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.

Terence Crawford

Crawford added that he has never seen Topuria fight and questioned why the UFC champion did not express his desire to fight when they met at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas a few months ago.

Although cross-combat fights between boxing and MMA have generated economic benefits for the participants, Crawford sees no value in a fight with “El Matador” and rejected any comparison with the 2017 fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and McGregor.

“How much money would I get fighting him? Tell me how much I’m going to make fighting him?” Crawford asked. “He’s not even close to Conor McGregor’s level. Let’s be real. Don’t compare him to Conor… Like I said, I don’t know this guy. I’ve never seen him fight, and I watch a lot of MMA.”