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UFC fighter calls out Terence Crawford to settle rivalry, names date and venue
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- UFC fighter calls out Terence Crawford to settle rivalry, names date and venue
Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
Terence Crawford hung up his gloves in 2025, fully believing that chapter of his life was closed for good.
He walked away from the sport on top, having beaten Canelo Alvarez to become the undisputed super middleweight champion in September, finishing with a perfect 42-0 record.
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But he has now been caught up in an unexpected feud with UFC welterweight Joaquin Buckley.
The tension began after 'New Mansa' took issue with some remarks made by Crawford and Shakur Stevenson during a livestream with Adin Ross, where they criticised MMA.
Joaquin Buckley has Terence Crawford in his sights
Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
Buckley first went after Stevenson following his 'disrespectful' boxing vs. UFC claim
Crawford hit back, calling him 'clueless' for saying he could kill Stevenson in a fight.
And now the 170lb UFC contender has called out Crawford to spar him at the UFC APEX next month.
Buckley said on his Instagram: "Bud is talking crazy, acting like he would do something in the streets, saying he is going to flip the switch, he is going to need the switch if he is playing with me.
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"We aren't going to do this in the streets. That was some good deflection. He didn't want to answer what I asked him, and that is to get that work. We can keep it out of the streets, we ain't going to be playing like that.
"Let's get in the ring, let's spar. You are out in Vegas a lot, you spar at the Apex, you work at the Apex. I think it would be fun. The whole world would like to watch. I know you still train for the lifestyle, I know you still spar.
"I see Shakur thinks something is funny, but at the end of the day, let's find out because I am dead serious about that… Somebody said you want a payday, this ain't got nothing to do with a payday, I'm willing to do this for free.
"This is an open invitation to Bud Crawford. Let's do it at the Apex. I'm going to try to make my way down to Vegas on March 7."
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What is next for Joaquin Buckley?
Buckley has not fought since losing on points to Kamaru Usman at UFC Atlanta last June.
The loss ended a six-fight winning streak that had put 'New Mansa' on the edge of a welterweight title shot.
The 31-year-old is still waiting to learn who his next opponent will be and when he will return to action.
Buckley has recently expressed interest in facing Jack Della Maddalena, but it is unlikely the UFC will pit the number one contender against someone ranked at the bottom of the top 10.
Therefore, Buckley may need to adjust his expectations after also calling out 'JDM' and Crawford in recent weeks.
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