One of boxing’s best champions, Shakur Stevenson, is up for facing UFC champion Ilia Topuria in the ring.
During a live stream with streamer Aiden Ross, Stevenson, along with Terence Crawford, discussed the differences between MMA and boxing, which led to a nonchalant challenge from Stevenson. While Ross attempted to pump up the UFC’s profile, Stevenson and Crawford naturally sided with boxing as the superior sport based on skill and popularity.
“I saw you say that, you gotta take that back – you said that the UFC is better than boxing,” Stevenson said to Ross.
Ross defended his position as best he could with two of the best boxers on the planet sitting just inches away.
“UFC will never be better than boxing,” Crawford said.
“At all – it ain’t even close,” Stevenson added. “The skill level is different.”
“UFC is good for what they do, and we good for what we do,” Crawford said. “You gotta think, if I can’t whoop you with my hands, I can kick you, I can take you down. It’s a whole different mental capacity than just kicking, punching.”
Ross continued to defend UFC, asking if former two-division champion Jon Jones was someone who could dominate in boxing. Stevenson didn’t hesitate with his blunt answer.
“Hell no,” Stevenson said.
“OK, Ilia Topuria?” Ross replied.
“Tell him come fight me,” Stevenson said.
“He’s a crazy boxer, bro,” Ross warned.
“I don’t care. Tell him to come fight me,” Stevenson said.
Stevenson recently won the Ring Magazine and WBO World Super Lightweight titles by defeating Teofimo Lopez on Jan. 31. Weighing in at 138 pounds, Stevenson, who moved up from boxing’s lightweight division of 135 pounds, would be the much smaller man in a potential crossover fight against Topuria.
As the UFC’s lightweight champion, Topuria weighs in at 155 pounds. The weight difference doesn’t stop at lightweight, though, as Topuria has suggested moving up to 170 pounds to chase a third UFC title in the welterweight division.
We’ve seen multiple boxing-MMA crossover fights over the years, and they’ve all turned out in a similar fashion. In boxing, the boxer typically dominates the MMA fighter, and the opposite is true inside the cage. The most famous example was in 2017, when Conor McGregor stepped into the ring against one of boxing’s all-time greats, Floyd Mayweather, for “The Money Fight.”
The fight took place during the height of McGregor’s stardom as an active fighter, and the pre-fight build included a world tour with stops in Los Angeles, Toronto, New York, and London. The hype was off the charts, but when the bell rang, it was clear McGregor had very little to offer Mayweather as a pure boxer. Mayweather won the fight by TKO in Round 10.
“I thought McGregor did good, but I think Floyd let him look good,” Stevenson said. “… Floyd was trying to entertain y’all – make it fun.”
“(Mayweather) carried him, but McGregor did do some good things in there,” Crawford said.
McGregor was considered one of the best boxers in the sport at the time, who possessed a heavy left hand. Topuria’s weapon of choice is his right hand, and he is also currently considered the best boxer in MMA today. There have been many parallels between the two UFC greats, as Topuria looked up to McGregor early on, but has since soured on the Irishman. Landing a crossover boxing bout against Stevenson, who possesses some traits of Mayweather in the ring, would just be another example.
