“Has some hate towards me”: Ilia Topuria calls out Shakur Stevenson again as UFC champion confidently plans future boxing super fight possibility

Ilia Topuria is already one of the biggest names in the UFC, but now the lightweight champion is again talking about a possible move into boxing. The 29-year-old recently said he would love to face undefeated boxing star Shakur Stevenson in the future because he feels the champion “talks too much.” Topuria made the comments during an interview with Vic Blends while discussing fighters he enjoys watching and his interest in testing himself in boxing one day.The comments came at a time when Topuria’s popularity is continuing to rise fast. He is set to headline the upcoming UFC White House event on June 14 and is preparing for a lightweight title unification fight against Justin Gaethje. Many fans had hoped to see him fight Islam Makhachev or Arman Tsarukyan instead, but Topuria’s attention is now also moving toward boxing conversations after several public exchanges with well-known fighters from the sport.During the interview with Vic Blends, Ilia Topuria spoke openly about the boxers he respects most. He mentioned legends like Julio César Chávez, Canelo Álvarez, Vasiliy Lomachenko, Mike Tyson and Oleksandr Usyk before turning his attention toward Stevenson.Topuria said, “Shakur Stevenson is a good fighter. The only bad thing about him is he talks too much. He has some hate towards me. Honestly, I really feel like I can go to boxing and really face the best fighters in the world.”He continued, “It’s not a dream but if it happens I will be happy, and specifically if it’s against someone like Shakur Stevenson who talks too much, it will be great.”The rivalry between the two has quietly grown over the past few months. Earlier this year, Stevenson spoke during a livestream with Adin Ross and invited Topuria to fight him in boxing. That moment came shortly after Topuria exchanged words online with Stevenson’s mentor, Terence Crawford.Topuria also recently had an online back-and-forth with Ryan Garcia, who told the UFC champion to stay focused on MMA instead of boxing. Still, Topuria has continued to show confidence in his striking ability and believes he could compete against elite boxers despite the long history of MMA fighters struggling in boxing matches.Stevenson remains unbeaten with a 25-0 record and last fought in January, defeating Teofimo Lopez to retain his Ring Magazine and WBO super lightweight titles.