Kamaru Usman is looking to become the face of the fight game with a win over Canelo Álvarez.
Usman is currently the pound-for-pound best in the UFC and has called out Álvarez for a boxing match. Although Usman is known as a wrestler, he is confident he would be able to defeat the Mexican. With that, promoter, Eddie Hearn said he would be open to making the match for his client Álvarez.
There’s no question if the two do end up boxing, Canelo would be a massive favorite, maybe the biggest in his career. However, Usman says his unusual boxing style would throw Álvarez off and he would get the win.
“Obviously, the bigger the dream, the bigger the manifestation,” Usman said to The Sun. “And the more it scares me, the more I’m willing to prepare and go through [hell] to achieve it. It’s no surprise. Canelo is a tall glass for anybody—a tall pint.
“And it scares me, it scares me to death. But the real reason [I want the fight] is: I wanted to be welterweight champion, I got it,” Usman added. “I wanted to be pound-for-pound, I got it.
“I always thought this phrase was special, and the phrase that I’m after now is: ‘The Face of the Fight Game’. And Canelo, right now, can’t say [he’s the face of the fight game]. Yeah, he’s the face of boxing, but he can’t say he’s the face of the fight game.”
Even though Kamaru Usman is calling for the boxing match with Canelo, he is likely to defend his welterweight title in July against Leon Edwards. The Mexican, meanwhile, is expected to face Dmitry Bivol in May and then will have the trilogy match against Gennady Golovkin after that, but perhaps after that, the Usman fight will happen if the Nigerian-American gets his wish.
For now, however, both Usman and Álvarez have to defend their own titles before any fight becomes to fruition.
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