Shakur Stevenson predicts Terence Crawford could knock out or choke Ilia Topuria in MMA

Shakur Stevenson (inset) believes Terence Crawford (left) can beat Ilia Topuria (right). [Images courtesy: Getty]
Shakur Stevenson (inset) believes Terence Crawford (left) can beat Ilia Topuria (right). [Images courtesy: Getty]

Shakur Stevenson is convinced that Terence Crawford could hold his own in a fight well outside the boxing ring. The unbeaten lightweight champion believes Crawford has the skillset to beat UFC lightweight titleholder Ilia Topuria under MMA rules.

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Stevenson has trained alongside Crawford for years and has first-hand knowledge of the American's skills. Crawford wrestled in high school in Nebraska and continued to train informally with collegiate wrestlers.

Stevenson claims that he has seen him hold his ground against legitimate grapplers. He believes that Crawford’s physicality and background would help him secure a win against Topuria.

The UFC lightweight king has called out Crawford multiple times for a potential crossover fight. Speaking in a recent interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Stevenson said:

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“Those guys gotta leave ‘Bud’ alone,” Stevenson said about UFC fighters. “I think ‘Bud’ Crawford is just different. In the boxing ring with him, you’re not going to last more than one round, I don’t think. You’re better off in the UFC. ‘Bud’ is a guy that I wouldn’t be surprised if he went to the UFC and beat the sh*t out of some guys, too. He’s got a great wrestling background. I’ve seen him wrestle real wrestlers on some everyday sh*t.”
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He added:

“’Bud’ looks bigger than that guy [Topuria], and he’s got longer arms. I just wouldn’t be surprised, come fight night, if they do an MMA fight, if ‘Bud’ done knocked him out or choked him to death, something like that. I just wouldn’t be surprised. I don’t wanna see him fight anymore."
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Check out Shakur Stevenson's quotes below:

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Michael Bisping is not ruling out a potential boxing match between Ilia Topuria and Terence Crawford

Michael Bisping believes a boxing match between Ilia Topuria and Terence Crawford is not outside the realm of possibility. Topuria has continued to pursue Crawford after his historic win over Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas.

With Dana White recently promoting Crawford under the TKO banner, the former UFC middleweight champion believes that there is a pathway for a crossover fight. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Bisping said:

"You've got all the boxing fans and then you've got all the MMA fans, and of course, you've got Dana White in the middle... Dana just did business with Terence Crawford. Ilia Topuria is under contract with the UFC. So, it's not unbelievable to think of a world where this might happen. It's just, would Crawford lower himself? Would he want to step in the ring with somebody like that? You never know because what else is there out there for him?"

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Edited by Abhishek Nambiar
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