Terence Crawford defends taunting Ilia Topuria after UFC White House loss

Boxing legend Terence Crawford doubled down on mocking former UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria’s loss at the White House.

Ilia Topuria’s unbeaten run came to a shocking end at UFC Freedom 250 earlier this month. In an instant classic against Justin Gaethje, Topuria lost by TKO (corner stoppage) in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.

Topuria’s poor showing at UFC Freedom 250 came after years of brashness and excessive confidence, deservedly so after his recent results. Ahead of UFC Freedom 250, Topuria made headlines when he claimed that he would defeat the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford in potential boxing crossover fights.

Crawford, who sat cageside as Topuria lost on the White House lawn, didn’t let Topuria off the hook after his loss. Crawford mocked Topuria on social media after the event, which left UFC superstar Conor McGregor coming to the dethroned champion’s defense.

Terence Crawford doubles down on Ilia Topuria criticism after ‘bad first impression’

In a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Crawford was asked about his online mockery of Topuria and doubled down on his comments.

“I didn’t know who he was until he came out saying he would knock me and Canelo out, and I’m like, ‘Who’s this guy?’ This is the guy that everybody talked about,” Crawford said of Topuria.

“Everybody’s saying he got this enormous boxing ability, that he can go into boxing and do real well. So, I’m really tuning in. This is my first time seeing him in a fight. The first impression wasn’t the best. For him to come out and say he’s gonna beat me, one of the best fighters of all time, knocking me out, I think it was a sign of disrespect.

“I’ve been doing boxing since I was 7 years old,” Crawford continued. “There’s no way that this guy is gonna come in there and do anything to me that I ain’t never seen before. So, seeing him get hit with the jab and the 1-2 the whole fight, I’m like, ‘What? What’s everybody excited about?”

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