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Canelo Alvarez on Fight vs. UFC's Kamaru Usman: 'It Doesn't Make Sense for Me'
November 6, 2021
Boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez said he's not interested in a potential cross-sport clash with UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
Alvarez, who's set to face Caleb Plant for the undisputed super middleweight crown on Saturday night, told TMZ Sports he doesn't think a matchup with Usman would help his legacy.
"I don't see. It doesn't make sense for me. I want to make history in boxing, and I don't see anything right there," Alvarez said.
Usman first suggested he'd take on a boxing match against the top pound-for-pound boxer in the world during an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in January 2020, and he doubled down on those comments Wednesday ahead of UFC 268.
Like Alvarez, the UFC grappler has a title fight Saturday night as he defends the welterweight belt against Colby Covington. He'd be willing to take time away from the Octagon for a marquee meeting with the 31-year-old Mexican sensation, though.
"I think that's something that [would be] the biggest ever in history," Usman told reporters. "That's what I'm looking to do. That's something that scares me. That's something that gets me up in the morning. That's something that I might risk leaving my daughter for another 12 weeks for."
It doesn't sound like Canelo is interested, at least at this stage of their respective careers, as he looks to continue building on his 56-1-2 career record.
Alvarez's only loss came in 2013 against Floyd Mayweather Jr., the undefeated boxer who laid the groundwork for cross-sport fights when he took on UFC's Conor McGregor in 2017.
That bout failed to live up to the hype, though. Mayweather, one of the best defensive boxers in history, never seemed remotely in danger as he kept McGregor at a safe distance throughout before scoring a knockout win in the 10th round.
Usman has a strong case as the best all-around fighter in the UFC, but he'd face a similar uphill battle if he stepped in the ring opposite Alvarez. Even though they both participate in combat sports, the approach and style is markedly different.
It's too early to say Alvarez vs. Usman will never happen. Money always talks, and that alone could make it something the camps revisit down the line.
For now, however, Canelo seems content facing off with full-time boxers.