Kamaru Usman has made it well known that he plans to continue pursuing a boxing match against pound-for-pound great and multi-division boxing champion, Canelo Alvarez. for a crossover fight.
Alvarez, meanwhile, still has no such interest.
Speaking to TMZ, Canelo says that while he will never completely close the door on a potential fight against the current Ultimate fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight champion, it’s not on his radar at the moment.
“Never say no, but right now it’s not in my future,” Alvarez told TMZ (via MMA Junkie). “Not right now. Yeah, it’s all about legacy right now, but you never know.”
Alvarez (57-1-2) is on a 16-fight unbeaten streak and is scheduled to defend his WBA (Super) Light Heavyweight title against Dmitry Bivol on May 7, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. After that, the Mexican-born knockout artist has plans to face Gennady Golovkin in a highly-anticipated trilogy fight
As for Usman, he is in talks to return to put his 170-pound title on the line against Leon Edwards at UFC 276, also in “Sin City.” The Welterweight king hasn’t competed since defeating Colby Covington a second time at UFC 268 in Nov. 2021. “The Nigerian Nightmare” took time to heal form a hand injury before mounting his comeback.
Usman is just the latest MMA champion who has been trying heavily to lock down a crossover boxing match, a list that also includes Heavyweight king, Francis Ngannou. “The Predator” is eying a showdown against Tyson Fury, going as far as saying he won’t consider a contract extension with the promotion unless a potential scrap against “The Gypsy King” is in the discussion.