By 
Nigeria’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has declared that he is thinking only of victory in September when he steps into the roped square for his debut in professional boxing.
Megasportsarena.com reports that, although it will be his first time stepping out of The Octagon into the ring, Usman said he is confident that his proposed opponent, Canelo Alvarez will not be able to stop him.
While the proposal is still hypothetic for now, Usman stressed that he wants to meet Alvarez in a crossover clash of combat sports, s they are both number one in the pound-for-pound rankings of UFC and boxing respectively.
The 34-year-old Usman was boastful, as he challenged Alvarez, an undisputed middleweight champion, to a cross-combat-sport encounter on Mexico’s Independence Day, which is Friday, September 16.
While declaring that boxing is dead, Usman laid out his plans to take on the four-weight champion after defending his UFC title against Leon Edwards this summer.
He added that a duel with Alvarez would offer combat sports fans something they have never seen before and Usman believes he will emerge victorious, though he also admitted that the Mexican may not accept the fight.
The Nigerian Nightmare’ is a former freestyle wrestler and has won his last 19 fights in mixed martial arts (MMA), including successfully defending his title on five occasions, most recently against Colby Covington in November 2021.
On the other hand, 31-year-old Alvarez has just a single defeat on his boxing record, when he lost to Floyd Mayweather in 2013.
He will challenge Dmitry Bivol for the WBA light-heavyweight title in May, but Usman has urged him to consider a mixed-discipline fight – and the significant financial reward it could bring.
Usman told TMZ: “Listen, he can overlook [me] all he wants to overlook, but he’s fighting guys over there that nobody knows.
“And he’s going around saying ‘payday, payday.’ Absolutely, it’s the biggest payday you are ever going to make.
“In July, I’m going to fight Leon Edwards. 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 will never come over here to UFC to challenge.
“I understand he gets paid, he makes money, but fighting me is the biggest payday he’s ever going to have.”
Comments