Boxing champion Terence Crawford recently added another belt to his collection after defeating Canelo Alvarez. Crawford is now a four-division champion in the history of boxing, but despite his accolades, he continues his ongoing beef with Ilia Topuria.
The two have traded words over the past few days, and Crawford shows no sign of letting things go despite his latest victory. In a recent taunt, Topuria said he might crossover to boxing and promised he would put Crawford to sleep if the opportunity ever arises. After his match with Alvarez, Crawford dismissed those claims and said Topuria doesn’t have what it takes to succeed in a boxing ring.
“To be honest, I’ve never even seen this dude fight, I’m not going to lie,” Crawford told Uncrowned. “I’m not worried about that guy at all. It’s crazy how things work. I didn’t even know who he was. When he saw me at the UFC and came up and shook my hand saying what’s up, I didn’t even know who he was.
“But then I see him online talking about how he’d knock me out in the first round, and this and that. Well, if you wanted to fight me, you had the opportunity to tell me, ‘Hey, I want to fight you, what’s up?’ That’s fake. If I don’t like someone and want to fight them for whatever reason, I would’ve been like, ‘What’s up, man? What do you think about me and you fighting?’ I’m not going to hide behind a keyboard and then say, ‘I’ll knock this dude out.’ I think that’s fake.”
Topuria called Crawford out again after the victory, saying he’d fight him whenever Crawford is ready. The repeated callouts are starting to sound serious, but Crawford believes it’s all a ploy to grab headlines.
“I definitely think he’s trying to clout chase,” Crawford explained. “I think he’d definitely get in the ring with me for the right check. That’s what we all do it for. But at the same time, I don’t know what the f*ck he’s doing. I don’t know what he’s thinking. He ain’t even nothing to talk about.”
After his massive victory over Alvarez, the chance to secure another big payday is wide open for Crawford, whether in a possible rematch with Alvarez or against another major name in boxing.
When asked about a potential fight with Topuria, Crawford dismissed the idea, saying it would never reach the level of publicity that Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor generated in 2017.
“For what?” Crawford asked. “What money would I get out of fighting him? Tell me how much I’d get out of fighting him. He’s nowhere near on the level of Conor McGregor. Let’s be real. Stop it. Don’t ever compare him to Conor. Conor was up top, he’s way lower. 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 slipping, maybe he’s a good fighter. I don’t know. But I’ve honestly never seen this guy fight, for sure.
“I’ve seen Conor McGregor fight a lot of times. I’m just saying. Him and Conor, it’s night and day. Am I going to make more with him than I made with Canelo? Am I going to make close? Listen, tell that guy keep up the good work in his career. I wish him nothing but the best.”
