Boxing star Terence Crawford is set to face Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas this Saturday, but it seems he still has some bad blood to settle with UFC lightweight Ilia Topuria.
The boxer recently came into Topuria’s radar when he refused to acknowledge the lightweight champ as a formidable boxer, instead picking Cody Garbrandt. In response, Topuria said he wouldn’t have a problem taking out Crawford if there was ever a crossover fight.
“I won’t talk about what would happen between me and Crawford in an Octagon, I’ll talk about what would happen in a ring,” Topuria tweeted. “I put him to sleep in the first contact!!”
At the Canelo vs. Crawford media day Wednesday in Las Vegas, Crawford got wind of these claims and dismissed them as a silly proclamation, pointing out that Topuria had never been in a boxing ring before.
“That dude’s drunk,” Crawford said. “A lot of MMA guys, they drink a lot, so he must have been on that alcohol that day.”
Rather than worrying about what Topuria has to say, Crawford is focused on his fight this weekend. On Saturday, Crawford takes on Canelo Alvarez for the undisputed super middleweight title. It’s one of the biggest fights in recent boxing history, and Crawford is excited about the prospect.
“I don’t think losing tarnishes me or Canelo’s legacy,” Crawford said. “I think that Canelo is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and I think that I’m a first-ballot Hall of Famer. So whether win, lose, or draw, both of us are going into the Hall of Fame, and that’s the ultimate goal at the end of the day, to be named with all the great fighters that came before us, to be inducted into the Hall of Fame for all that we’ve done in the sport of boxing.”
Crawford has every confidence he will leave Las Vegas on Saturday with his third set of undisputed titles.
“I’m 1000 percent sure now,” Crawford said. “You’ve got to think, going into a fight, you don’t know what’s going to happen. You could get injuries, he could get injuries. There are so many things that go on in a boxing match, the judges, the ref, preparation. So you’re not 100 percent sure. If a fighter says I’m 1000 percent sure, they’re lying, because you have to go out there and perform at the end of the day. And I’m more than ready to go out there and perform this Saturday.”
