An unlikely feud seems to be brewing between the UFC lightweight champion, Ilia Topuria, and boxing world champion, Terence Crawford.
Ahead of his huge boxing fight against Canelo Alvarez this coming Saturday, Terence Crawford has gotten involved in a surprise war of words with UFC champion, Ilia Topuria.
The unlikely feud began last week when ‘El Matador’ shared an image of him and ‘Bud’ Crawford embracing, captioned ‘Who wins this fight?’.
Topuria went on to claim that he would knock Crawford out within the first round if they ended up clashing in the boxing ring, which didn’t sit well with the boxer, who labeled Topuria ‘drunk’ for his take.
Topuria issues response to Crawford after ‘drunk’ comment
Over the last few years, Topuria has shown that he is one of the most confident fighters to ever step foot in the UFC, having predicted the majority of his outcomes.
And so it is no surprise that the Spaniard predicted he would knock Crawford out. With the American having laughed off his claim, Topuria has now issued a response, explaining what bothers him about Crawford’s reaction.
“I have no opinion on what (Crawford) said,” Topuria explained during a recent WOW press conference.
“Whenever he wants to measure himself, when he wants to test his technique and skills, I’m here to show him. What bothers me lately is that a lot of boxers come out, interfere with our game, criticize us and try to put us down.
“The truth is, there are many MMA athletes who have tried going into boxing to test their skills, but I don’t know many of the boxers that talk so much that have actually tested themselves in MMA. But in any case, whoever wants it, I’m here,” Topuria continued.
Crawford snubbed Topuria when naming the best boxer in the UFC
The Spanish champion is widely regarded as the best boxer in the UFC, having taken the crown from BMF champion Max Holloway.
However, despite the widespread consensus being that ‘El Matador’ is the best boxer in the UFC, when Crawford was asked for his pick, he snubbed Topuria with a shock pick.
“My guy, what’s his name Cody (Garbrandt), he’s the best boxer in the UFC,” Crawford told Full Send.