Talk of Ilia Topuria crossing over to boxing to challenge Terence Crawford continues to divide opinion.
The UFC lightweight champion has been among the most discussed opponent options for Crawford since his latest triumph inside the ring.
Moving up two divisions, Crawford beat the great Canelo Alvarez in their Netflix main event at Allegiant Stadium this past Saturday to become the undisputed super middleweight champion.
In the aftermath of that result, Crawford’s legacy has been compared to Floyd Mayweather’s, and many are tipping him to follow in the 50-0 legend’s footsteps by welcoming a top UFC star to the squared circle.
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Michael Chiesa uninterested in seeing Ilia Topuria boxing Terence Crawford
After some fight week exchanges between the pair, Topuria reignited his back-and-forth with Crawford after taking issue with the American using the same walkout song.
Many in the MMA community have pushed back on that fight and laughed off the Spaniard’s confidence, with some fans insisting that Topuria wouldn’t even last five rounds against Crawford.
The latest to give their take was UFC veteran Michael Chiesa, who cited the downfall of Conor McGregor since he crossed over to the ring to explain why he has no interest in seeing Topuria lace up the boxing gloves.
“Absolutely not,” Chiesa said on The Bohnfire podcast when asked if he wants to see Topuria face Crawford. “We lost Conor McGregor after the Floyd Mayweather fight.
“That’s not the goal with Zuffa boxing…If we pulled Ilia Topuria into that space, that would mean that that’s part of their MO.
“I’m not saying Crawford doesn’t know how to promote a fight, but Floyd was a master of that,” Chiesa continued. “And Ilia’s not a Conor. That was such a one of one thing. That was peak Conor McGregor trash talk.
“(Topuria) just doesn’t have that sharp tongue like Conor had. To make that fight happen, it takes two fighters from two different worlds that are saying the things that are getting everybody’s attention.”
Since McGregor’s ‘Money Fight’ against Mayweather in 2017, the Irishman has won just a single UFC outing against Donald Cerrone.
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Terence Crawford dismissed opponent pitched by Turki Alalshikh after his win over Canelo Alvarez
While talk of Crawford and Topuria sharing the ring remains far from coming to fruition, ‘El Matador’ is not the only potential opponent that doesn’t appear to light a fire under ‘Bud’.
After Saturday’s memorable performance, Turki Alalshikh was quick to suggest that a fight between Crawford and David Benavidez could be worth pursuing.
But before moving up two weight classes and beating Alvarez, who has been accused of avoiding Benavidez in the past, ‘Bud’ explained why he would not be interested in facing ‘El Bandera Roja’, who has most recently been competing at light heavyweight.
“My thing is, Benavidez is a big dude,” Crawford said on the Pound 4 Pound podcast. “Not to say I won’t fight him, I fought his brother. His brother was big when I fought him. The only reason why I entertain Canelo is because he’s not a big dude. He might be thick but he’s not a big dude.
“Benavidez is like six foot something, then he’s gonna come in 190, 200 (pounds) maybe, you know what I mean?
“You never know, that’s a big dude…I might as well go to heavyweight if I fight Benavidez,” Crawford added.