Terence Crawford has unloaded on Ilia Topuria in the wake of the UFC star’s first career defeat, mocking the former massive favorite after his loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 last month.
Topuria entered his lightweight title fight against Gaethje as a huge favorite but was stopped at the end of Round 4 when doctors waved the fight off. The result handed Topuria his first professional loss, dropping him to 17-1 in MMA and 9-1 in the UFC, while Gaethje moved to 28-5 overall and 11-5 in the promotion.
Crawford, described as a former undefeated champion, said he only started paying attention to Topuria after the UFC fighter called him out. "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."
Crawford added that he finally watched Topuria compete for the first time while in attendance at the White House last month. "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," Crawford said. He continued, "For him to come out and say he going to beat me, one of the best fighters of all time, knocking me out, I think it was a sign of disrespect."
Crawford and Topuria had traded barbs before Gaethje handed the UFC champion his first loss, after Topuria had previously said he would knock out Crawford in a boxing match.
