UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has promised to “stop Canelo Alvarez” if the pair meet in a crossover clash of combat sports.
Usman and Alvarez are number one in the pound-for-pound rankings in UFC and boxing respectively.
The 34-year-old has challenged undisputed middleweight champion Alvarez to a cross-combat sport encounter on Mexican Independence Day, which is Friday 16 September.
Declaring that “boxing is dead”, Usman has laid out his plans to take on the four-weight champion after defending his UFC title against Leon Edwards this summer.
He says that a duel with Alvarez would offer combat sports fans something they have never seen before - even if he thinks the Mexican may not accept the fight.
“In July, I’m going to fight Leon Edwards,” Usman outlined to TMZ. “God willing, I get through Leon Edwards, then in September, Mexican Independence Day, I will stop Canelo Alvarez.
“Boxing is dead, at the end of the day. I’m not saying there’s not good boxers, there’s some fantastic boxers. Errol Spence Jr, there’s a ton of guys that I could go down and really tell you that are fantastic fighters.
“But boxing is dying. At the end of the day, everybody wants to be entertained, and when have you ever seen pound-for-pound against the pound-for-pound? I’m not afraid to do that.
“Unfortunately those guys, i.e. Canelo, will never come over here to UFC to challenge.”
Usman has won his last 19 fights in mixed martial arts, defending his title on five occasions, most recently against Colby Covington in November 2021.
The Nigerian-American is a former freestyle wrestler and has added significant striking ability to his repertoire in the last few years.
Alvarez has just a single defeat on his boxing record, losing to Floyd Mayweather in 2013.
The 31-year-old will challenge Dmitry Bivol for the WBA light-heavyweight title in May but Usman has urged him to consider a fight - and the significant financial reward it could bring.
“Listen, he can overlook [me] all he wants to overlook, but he’s fighting guys over there that nobody knows,” Usman explained.
“And he’s going around saying ‘payday, payday’. Absolutely, it’s the biggest payday you are ever going to make.
“I understand he gets paid, he makes money, but fighting me is the biggest payday he’s ever going to have.”
