UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria (17-0), who’s headlining UFC Freedom 250 with a defense of his belt against Justin Gaethje, has named Shakur Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs) as the boxer he would most want to face in a crossover fight, describing the WBO super lightweight champion as someone who “talks too much.”
“He’s a good fighter. The only bad thing about him, he talks too much. He has some hate to me. Honestly, I really feel that I can go to boxing and really face the best fighters in the world. Currently, it’s not a dream, but if it happens, I will be happy. And specifically, if it’s against someone like Shakur Stevenson, someone like him, who talks too much, it would be great,” Topuria
The tension between the two stems from Topuria’s previous claim that he could beat Terence Crawford in a boxing match. Crawford, who retired undefeated, is a close friend and mentor to Stevenson, who took exception to the callout on Crawford’s behalf.
Topuria has been increasingly vocal about his boxing ambitions, having also recently clashed with Ryan Garcia on social media over a proposed matchup. Any crossover fight would require either a UFC contract release or approval from the promotion, meaning it is unlikely.