The boxing vs. MMA debate rarely remains technical for long. It begins with skill comparisons and ends with ego. This time, it spiraled following Shakur Stevenson‘s comments about MMA fighters and whether they truly belong in a boxing ring. Joaquin Buckley didn’t like the tone, and he made his opinion known.

What followed was more than just another social media spat. It became personal when he also called out Terence Crawford. In a series of tweets, the retired champ laughed off Buckley’s stance and questioned why the UFC contender was even talking. ‘New Mansa’ heard everything. Instead of doubling down on street-fighting rhetoric, he took a far more direct approach.

Joaquin Buckley wants Terence Crawford at the UFC Apex

Joaquin Buckley made it clear that if Terence Crawford had anything to say, there was a simple way of settling it. “Let’s get in the ring. Let’s spar,” he said in his recent livestream, noting that ‘Bud’ spends a lot of time in Las Vegas anyway. “You spar up at the Apex. You work up at the Apex. I think it’d be fun. I think the whole world would love to watch it… Let’s find out, uh, because I’m dead serious about that. It’s real cute that you talking about you know what happens to tough guys on the street, but at the end of the day, man, we in the toughest sport in the world, right? And that’s combat sports. So let’s see who the best fight. I ain’t, I ain’t scared to fight.”

He wasn’t vague about logistics, either. “This is an open invitation to Bud Crawford… I’m gonna try to make my way down to Vegas March 7th,” Buckley added. “This ain’t got nothing to do with payday. I’m willing to do this for free.” For him, it wasn’t about clout or a crossover spectacle. It was about testing skills under controlled rules rather than hiding behind hypotheticals.

There was another layer to it, too. Joaquin Buckley openly admitted that he sees himself moving into boxing later in his career. Terence Crawford was singled out for strategic reasons, not at random. He believes that many boxers will not cross over because the danger outweighs the gain; therefore, he’s positioning himself as the one willing to make it happen.

Crawford has yet to express any genuine interest in answering the callout, and maybe he won’t, considering he laughed off Buckley’s past comments. But ‘New Mansa’ went one step further than most internet feuds by attaching a real date and location to it. That changes the tone. It is no longer an abstract debate. It is an invitation.

Whether it happens or not, the message is clear: if the debate is about who is the better fighter, Joaquin Buckley wants it settled where fighters are judged best—under the spotlight, not in comment sections. Until then, he’ll continue to train while on the sidelines and maybe help enhance his skills in boxing, since, according to him, the UFC welterweight division is struggling and a major change will have to be made to save it.

Buckley goes off on the welterweight roster

Joaquin Buckley expresses the same restlessness while discussing his own division. While waiting for movement, he sees what seems to be a rare stall at the top of the welterweight division. Since Islam Makhachev won the title late last year, the belt hasn’t anchored the division so much as frozen it.

‘New Mansa’ is not accusing anyone of ducking, but he is wondering why one of the UFC’s most competitive weight classes is stuck in neutral when so many contenders are healthy and available. He said, “The matchmakers know their job. They know better than me what they doing. But right now, they got the hottest division, and ain’t nobody fighting.”

Some names, he believes, are busy elsewhere—training experiments, side ventures, lifestyle choices—while others simply wait. Fighters such as Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates have momentum, but no fight dates. Former champions such as Jack Della Maddalena and Leon Edwards have been quiet following recent defeats.

Even Belal Muhammad, who was previously unavoidable in the title picture, looks to have stalled, and Shavkat Rakhmonov has dropped completely from the ranks as a result of injury-related inactivity. Buckley believes it all adds up to wasted time. There is irony in the critique, since Buckley himself hasn’t fought since mid-2025.

But he doesn’t shy away from it. Instead, he presents his words as urgent rather than mere deflection. If the division is to survive its own depth, someone must shake things up. Until then, ‘New Mansa’ says he’ll keep sharpening his skills, including boxing, and remain loud enough to make the logjam impossible to ignore.