It might be a long shot, but there is the possibility of a fight between the top pound-for-pound boxer in the world and the top pound-for-pound MMA fighter.
Before his rematch with Colby Covington this past December, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman once again floated the idea of a crossover fight with boxing kingpin Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, saying that he wanted to do something “that’s never been done before.” In response, Alvarez said that such a fight wouldn’t make sense for him. And while Canelo may still think the fight doesn’t make much sense, he’s becoming more open to the idea.
“Maybe. Why not?,” Canelo told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “You never say no. My trainer told me about it and I said, ‘Well, if you say.’”
Canelo and Usman share a number of qualities that could make the bout highly marketable. Both men stand atop the pound-for-pound ranking of their respective sports and both men are unbeaten in competition since 2013, when Canelo lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Usman lost on his second professional MMA fight. Unfortunately for Usman, UFC President Dana White has already shut down any such talks, but that is just fine for Canelo who says he has other fish to fry at the moment.
“It’s not really on my mind,” Canelo said. “I want a really good legacy for my career and we can talk about other things later.”
At the moment what is on Canelo’s mind is his upcoming WBA super light heavyweight title fight against Dmitry Bivol which will take place May 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
