Outside Source
While Topuria (17-0) acknowledges Stevenson as a good boxer, he believes the four-division world champion has an issue with him. Topuria believes he can hold his own against the best boxers in the world today. While it is not a dream for Topuria, the UFC lightweight champion would like to compete in boxing someday. Topuria would especially like to transition to boxing to fight someone like Stevenson, who, he says, runs his mouth too much.
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“[Shakur Stevenson] is a good fighter,” Topuria said on DeepCuts with VicBlends. “The only bad thing about him, he talks too much. He has some hate towards me… Honestly, I really feel that I can go to boxing and really face the best fighters in the world currently. It’s not like a dream, but if it happens I will be happy. And specifically, if it’s against someone like Shakur Stevenson, who talks too much.”
MMA vs. Boxing Revisited
MMA vs. boxing is an age-old debate with no conclusion. While boxers rarely transition to MMA, MMA fighters often try their hand at pugilism after hanging up their MMA gloves. Conor McGregor is the only UFC fighter who was still at his prime when he lost a boxing match against Floyd Mayweather in 2018.
Stevenson’s feud with Topuria also started with the MMA vs. boxing debate. Stevenson was streaming with Adin Ross when the influencer declared MMA better than boxing. Stevenson refused to agree with Ross, who then brought up Ilia Topuria. When Ross lauded Topuria’s elite boxing skills, Stevenson called out the UFC champion to fight him in boxing.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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