Bad blood continues to boil between UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria and boxer Shakur Stevenson, as both tease a crossover.
UFC lightweight champ Ilia Topuria is arguably one of the greatest boxers in Mixed Martial Arts history, as evidenced by recent knockout wins over Charles Oliveira, Max Holloway, and Alexander Volkanovski. Topuria will headline UFC Freedom 250 next month against Justin Gaethje as he looks to remain unbeaten in his career.
During his rise to superstardom, Topuria has traded barbs with some of the best fighters in MMA and boxing. One such feud has been with boxing star Shakur Stevenson, who recently belittled MMA fighters like Topuria, who believe they can compete at a high level in the boxing ring.
As Topuria prepares for his latest UFC main event booking, he continues to tease a potential crossover fight against Stevenson, especially as the two continue to trade barbs on social media.
Ilia Topuria: Shakur Stevenson ‘good fighter, but talks too much’ as feud intensifies
In a recent appearance on the DeepCut Podcast, Topuria weighed in on the recent back-and-forths with Stevenson.
“He’s a good fighter, but the only bad thing about him, he talks too much,” Topuria said of Stevenson.
“He has some hate [towards] me. I really feel that I can go to boxing and face the best fighters in the world, currently. It’s not a ‘dream’, but if it happens, I’d be happy. Specifically, if it’s against someone like Shakur Stevenson, someone like him who talks too much, it would be great.”
It didn’t take long for Stevenson to take notice of Topuria’s comments, as he responded in a recent tweet.
“[LAUGHS] I would beat the s*** out of u Ilia,” Stevenson tweeted.
Stevenson, an Olympic silver medalist, most recently defeated Teofimo Lopez in January to remain undefeated in the ring. After Conor McGregor’s 2017 showdown with Floyd Mayweather, anything is possible in the crossover world, and don’t be surprised if Topuria and Stevenson collide in the future.
How would Ilia Topuria do against some of the top boxers at his weight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!