Canelo Alvarez does not sound too interested in fighting UFC pound-for-pound king Kamaru Usman, who has been eyeing a fight with the boxing great.
Alvarez — the reigning IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO and The Ring super-middleweight champion — was asked about facing Usman in the ring and didn’t sound too keen on the idea, at least yet.
“Never say no, but right now it’s not in my future,” Alvarez told TMZ. “Not right now. Yeah, it’s all about legacy right now, but you never know.”
Alvarez’s disinterest in the fight generated quite the response from Usman’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, who called the boxer a “chicken” on social media.
“Canelo is an absolute chicken. He is fighting guys with 5000 followers on Instagram, these guys will never do nothing for his legacy. Now I understand why he doesn’t wanna lose to someone like [Usman]. This is chicken style, no risk – no reward.”
Alvarez issued a hilarious response, writing: “Who the f–k is this?”
Usman Looking for Boxing Payday With Alvarez Fight
While there could be an argument for the legacy aspect of things in terms of opponents, Canelo is bringing in bank for his fights. He earned a guaranteed $40 million while also claiming 60% of PPV proceeds for his last fight against Caleb Plant, per DraftKings.
It’s estimated that Usman earned a little over $1.5 million for his title defense against Colby Covington at UFC 268 last November. During an appearance on the “MMA Hour” this week, Alvarez acknowledged that Usman wants a payday and sounded a bit more eager to make the exhibition a reality.
“Payday. He wants a payday, I know,” Alvarez said. “But maybe, maybe, why not? You never say no, right?”
We’ll see if Alvarez eventually bites, but Abdelaziz is doing his part to coax him into a match to decide the “baddest man on the planet.”
“I think all these boxers are cowards because they don’t want to fight in MMA, they want us to all come to boxing,” Abdelaziz said. “But at the end of the day, in a street fight, who’s the baddest man on the planet? They cannot call Canelo the baddest man on the planet? They cannot call him that because if they both met in the street who would win? Kamaru would beat his a*s like he stole something”.
Dana White Has Discouraged Idea of Usman Boxing
Usman is expected to defend his welterweight title this summer against Leon Edwards in a rematch. But when it comes to his boxing plans, UFC president Dana White isn’t over the moon with the idea.
“I think that [Usman] serious about it —he shouldn’t be serious about it,” White told Sky Sports. “I don’t like that fight at all. Everything about it is horrible. Usman is not a boxer. Canelo is probably the best guy out there right now. It’s a stupid fight that makes no sense.”
Another UFC champion eyeing a boxing payday is Francis Ngannou, who appeared alongside Tyson Fury over the weekend after his KO victory of Dillian Whyte. Ngannou is recovering from knee surgery and is also negotiating his next deal with the UFC.
Canelo Alvarez Calls Out UFC Champ Kamaru Usman’s Camp