It seems the beef between UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria and three-time boxing champion Terence Crawford isn’t ending anytime soon.
The two have traded shots back and forth since Crawford refused to acknowledge Topuria as a top boxer and even called him drunk. The UFC champ fired back by calling him out for a boxing match. Crawford wasn’t done with Topuria yet, as he walked out using Topuria’s signature walkout song. “El Matador” wasn’t too pleased with the move, but he remains locked in on fighting Crawford and has promised to put him to sleep.
“First he calls me drunk… then he walks out to MY song,” Topuria wrote on Twitter. “Crawford, whenever you want, I’ll teach you how to dance that mariachi in the ring. And Canelo, I’ll save you a round.”
As he marched to the ring to deliver a 12-round win over Alvarez, Crawford used the track Canción del Mariachi from actor Antonio Banderas and the band Los Lobos, made famous in the 1995 film Desperado. The move was a clear taunt to Topuria, but the UFC lightweight champ may get his shot at retaliation as he continues to push for a crossover to boxing.
Topuria has repeatedly talked about his desire to move from MMA to boxing, much like Conor McGregor did in 2017 against Floyd Mayweather. UFC CEO Dana White has scoffed at allowing another fighter to try their hand at boxing, but Topuria believes he’s in a unique position to change his mind.
“It’s something I want to do, and I don’t think [Dana] will tell me he doesn’t want to help me achieve my dream… I’ll have his support, I have no doubt about that,” Topuria said during an appearance at WOW FC. “It’ll take some convincing, but I’m sure it’ll work out.”
While it seems highly unlikely Topuria ever gets the chance, he certainly has the star power to at least make the request.
