​Terence Crawford isn’t backing down from his reaction to Ilia Topuria’s first pro defeat. Topuria, who holds a 17-1 MMA record with a 9-1 UFC mark, was heavily favored against Justin Gaethje (28-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) in their lightweight title bout at UFC Freedom 250, but ended up being stopped at the end of Round 4 after doctors halted the fight. Crawford and Topuria have traded barbs for years, with Topuria boldly claiming he’d knock out the former undefeated champion in a boxing match. Crawford seized the chance to joke about Topuria following his loss.
“I didn’t know who he was until he came out saying he would knock me and Canelo out, and I’m like, ‘Who is this guy?’” Crawford said on The Ariel Helwani Show. “They’re like, ‘Terence took a picture with him,’ and I’m like, ‘I’ve never seen him fight.’ Then everybody was just telling me he can fight. So I’m like, ‘Well, I’ve never seen him fight so I can’t speak on nothing, but I know he’s not whooping me.’”
The now-retired Crawford finally got to watch Topuria compete when he was in attendance at the White House last month. “Everybody’s saying he’s got this enormous boxing ability, that he can go into boxing and do real well,” Crawford said. “So I’m really tuning in. This is my first time seeing him in a fight, and the first impression wasn’t the best impression. For him to come out and say he’s going to beat me, one of the best fighters of all time, knocking me out, I think it was a sign of disrespect. You’re not respecting my craft, which I would never do to MMA and claim I’d choke you out or do this, when I know it’s going to be a tough task to do.”
That’s their realm. They’ve been at it for so long that they know the ins and outs, just like boxing. I’ve been boxing since I was seven, and there’s no way this guy will do anything to me that I haven’t seen before. So watching him get hit with the jab and the 1-2 for the whole fight, I’m thinking, ‘What’s everybody so excited about?’ He did land some good body shots and fought straight forward, but he ultimately lost.