In a heated ongoing debate pitting UFC against professional boxing, UFC welterweight Joaquin Buckley has garnered unexpected support from former two-division champion Daniel Cormier. The endorsement comes amid Buckley's public clashes with boxing stars Shakur Stevenson and Terence Crawford, where he has passionately defended the quality of MMA over modern boxing.
Buckley, known for his outspoken nature, recently engaged in a war of words with Stevenson and Crawford, criticizing the state of professional boxing while championing UFC's appeal. Despite a recent setback in the octagon—a loss to former welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman—Buckley's impressive skill set positions him for a swift return to the rankings.
Cormier, a respected voice in combat sports, voiced his agreement with Buckley in a recent video on his YouTube channel. “Shakur Stevenson said the UFC could never be boxing – Joaquin Buckley was right,” Cormier declared, emphasizing that UFC need not emulate boxing's current form.
Elaborating on his stance, Cormier highlighted boxing's diminished glory compared to its golden eras. “It doesn’t have to be boxing, because the reality is there’s no big fights like there were in the past. I want to be the boxing of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s,” he said. “If I was trying to be boxing, I would want to be boxing of that era and of that time. Boxing today isn’t necessarily what I would want to be, and what it used to be, because there just aren’t enough stars to make big fights.”
Cormier reminisced about boxing's iconic past, pointing to legendary figures and matchups that captivated global audiences. “There aren’t enough big events to make us go back to the days when (Muhammad) Ali was fighting or when (Mike) Tyson was fighting, or when you had the ‘Four Kings’ and they were all fighting each other,” he continued. “I’m talking even the days of Lennox Lewis being the heavyweight champion. Even the Klitschko Brothers. It was different back then. Those fights brought more attention, and they felt bigger.”
Buckley's bold opinions have kept him in the spotlight, bridging the divide between MMA and boxing fans. With Cormier's backing, the welterweight's arguments gain added weight from one of the sport's most credible analysts, fueling further discussion on the evolution of combat sports.
