The boxing world remains abuzz in the Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez aftermath after the elite fighters put on a showcase at the highest level.
Although Crawford and Canelo aren’t the type of fighters to trash-talk in order to build hype for a fight, their clash managed to become the third-highest gate in US boxing history, surpassing huge bouts such as Canelo vs Floyd Mayweather and Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson.
The fight sits behind Mayweather vs Conor McGregor in 2017 and although a crossover between a UFC superstar and an elite boxer looked like it could never be replicated again, Crawford and current UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria are embroiled in a war of words which could potentially head in a similar direction, and get settled either in the boxing ring or a UFC Octagon.
Although the talk around these types of super-fights pretty much always involves the MMA fighter going over to boxing, Crawford has a background in wrestling, which could make the chances of a fight happening in MMA against Topuria slightly higher. Although the Spaniard is, to many, the pound-for-pound best fighter in MMA right now, Crawford’s long-time friend, Shakur Stevenson, believes he would fare very well inside the Octagon against Topuria.
Terence Crawford Finishes Ilia Topuria in MMA, Says Shakur Stevenson
If a fight between Ilia Topuria and Terence Crawford were to be booked and announced tomorrow, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, as expected, would be a huge betting favourite, however, Shakur Stevenson believes ‘Bud’ would not only defeat Topuria, but finish him.
During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Stevenson was asked about the recent social media beef between Crawford and Topuria, and the current WBC lightweight champion said he wouldn’t be surprised to see the two fight in MMA, and he believes his close friend, Crawford, would come out victorious.
He said: “Bud is a guy that I wouldn’t be surprised if he went to the UFC and beat the s*** out of some guys too. He’s got a great wrestling background, I’ve seen him wrestle real wrestlers on some everyday s***.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised, come fight night, if they do an MMA fight, if Bud done knocked him out or choked him to death, something like that. I just wouldn’t be surprised.”
As mentioned, Crawford does have an extensive background in wrestling, and he even managed to wrestle at a pretty high level. Although he is a capable wrestler, for him to go over to MMA and compete with a fighter as good as Topuria, it would likely take years of preparation, and for that reason, a crossover super-fight still seems incredibly unlikely at this stage.
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