Daniel Cormier isn’t sure if UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria is an enticing enough name for Terence Crawford to consider for a crossover fight.
Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) called out Crawford (42-0 boxing) after Crawford defeated Canelo Alvarez on Saturday in to become undisputed champion in a third weight class. Crawford dismissed Topuria and claimed he didn’t know who he was. He also said comparing Topuria to former UFC dual champion Conor McGregor, who managed to make $100 million boxing Floyd Mayweather in 2017, is off base.
Cormier seems to agree.
“What Conor did by going as long as he did with Floyd Mayweather was probably some of the most surprising stuff I have seen in combat,” Cormier said on “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Chael Sonnen. “Watching Francis Ngannou go as long with Tyson Fury was some of the most surprising stuff I’ve seen in combat sports.
“I would have expected Tyson Fury to do him like Anthony Joshua did, but I also believe that Floyd Mayweather and Tyson Fury have an ability to make sure that a person can stay in there with them as long as they need them to, to make it look competitive, to make you feel good about it.”
Cormier sees Topuria trying to take a page out of McGregor’s book but isn’t sure if it’ll work. However, Cormier also thinks timing could play in Topuria’s favor. He explains how.
“Ilia is taking things out of the McGregor playbook, but you’ve got to have that stardom, and he’s not there yet,” Cormier said. “I think that’s what’s going to stop him from getting the fight. But I mean, when you’re Terence Crawford, and you’ve been dying for big opportunities your whole career, could an Ilia Topuria fight be the next thing that’s the biggest thing?
“Because who’s out there for him to fight that’s going to be a bigger name, in terms of bringing in a new fanbase to watch Terence Crawford, than Ilia Topuria? There are some legs to it more than it would be normally, especially being that ‘Bud’ respects the UFC as much as he does, and he knows Ilia Topuria. He could have no-sold him, but he didn’t do that.”
