The UFC vs. boxing debate is getting heated once again. This time, thanks to comments from four-division champion Shakur Stevenson. The Newark native defeated Teofimo Lopez last month. And days later, the undefeated star made his way to popular streamer Adin Ross’ stream. 

While there, Stevenson, joined by his close friend and long-time training partner Terence Crawford, called out Ross for his take on the UFC vs. boxing debate. This resulted in Stevenson making bold claims about UFC’s top stars—Jon Jones and Ilia Topuria, which got him branded disrespectful. 

Joaquin Buckley claims he could kill ‘Sugar’ Stevenson

Reacting to Stevenson’s statement on Ross’ stream, 31-year-old Joaquin Buckley went off on the boxer. “Y’all boxers are so disrespectful to us athletes, bro, in the UFC,” Buckley said in a video he shared on Instagram. He argued that even though Stevenson beat Lopez, he couldn’t avenge himself. 

“He’s saying n—a. He’s throwing bananas at you and all that type of stuff, right? Yeah, you beat him. But you should have knocked his a— out cold,” the 31-year-old added. Buckley felt Shakur Stevenson was worried about losing the fight and getting embarrassed.

“You a h—e,” Buckley continued. “You ain’t want to go out there and put on your best performance. With that being said, stop disrespecting us. Bro, we are way more entertaining than y’all.” He went as far as to suggest boxing matches are predictable, whereas in UFC, you never know who will win. 

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“If we came outside… I could kill you,” Buckley said in his video. “I’m not saying I want to kill you or want to take you out this earth, but realistically, I would kill you if we fought.” ‘New Mansa’ hasn’t fought since his June 2025 loss to Kamaru Usman via unanimous decision. 

He currently holds a 9-5 record in the UFC and has never fought for the title. While Buckley’s claims can’t be denied, time and again, MMA fighters transitioning to boxing have struggled to replicate their success inside the cage. The same would likely hold true if boxers made the move to MMA. 

What’s even more obvious, however, is that boxing has been in decline. HBO and Showtime have left the sport. And only thanks to His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, some great boxing matches were made a reality in recent years. Even Crawford’s fight against Canelo Alvarez was possible because of him. 

But now the question is, what exactly did Stevenson say that enraged Buckley? 

Shakur Stevenson dismisses Jon Jones and Ilia Topuria

During the stream, ‘Sugar’ suddenly remembered something Ross had said in the past: “The UFC is way better than boxing.” So, the 28-year-old boxer asked Ross to take back his claim. “I saw you say that, you gotta take that back… You said that the UFC is better than boxing,” Stevenson said.

Ross tried his best to defend the sport, but Terence Crawford immediately backed Stevenson. “UFC will never be better than boxing,” Crawford said. Stevenson doubled down, suggesting the difference in skill between MMA fighters and boxers is clear across the board.

Crawford, however, was willing to meet Ross halfway. “UFC is good for what they do, and we good for what we do,” Crawford said. “You gotta think, if I can’t whoop you with my hands, I can kick you, I can take you down. It’s a whole different mental capacity than just kicking, punching.”

Ross continued to defend the UFC, asking whether former two-division champion Jon Jones could dominate in boxing. But Stevenson didn’t bite. “Hell no,” Stevenson said. Ross then brought up Ilia Topuria, who has a reputation as one of the best boxers in the promotion.

“Tell him come fight me,” Stevenson said. Even though Ross tried to warn Stevenson that Topuria is a great boxer, Stevenson wasn’t backing down. “I don’t care. Tell him to come fight me,” Stevenson said. It’s also worth noting that Crawford had his own beef with Topuria.

The pair clashed after Crawford defeated Alvarez in September last year. ‘Bud’ has since retired, and a potential Topuria-Crawford crossover fight ended there. 

Clearly, things are getting heated between UFC and boxing. But will this spill over to engulf other fighters? Will this birth a cross-over fight?