Usman eyes 'biggest-ever' boxing match vs. Canelo
Kamaru Usman, the UFC's No. 1-ranked male fighter and welterweight champion, wants to square off with another pound-for-pound king: boxing's Canelo Alvarez.
Usman is set to put his title on the line in a rematch with Colby Covington at UFC 268 on Saturday in New York. He said Wednesday he plans to talk to UFC president Dana White in the near future about potentially booking a boxing bout against Alvarez.
"Since when have we ever seen the pound-for-pound mixed martial artist go up against the pound-for-pound boxer, both in their prime? ... I think that's something that would be the biggest (fight) ever in history," Usman said at UFC 268 media day.
He added: "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. So we'll see. That's something that I'm looking at."
Alvarez - the WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champion - is also scheduled to compete Saturday night in a title unification bout against Caleb Plant in Las Vegas.
Usman recognizes that his event is going head-to-head with a highly anticipated Alvarez bout, and he's curious to see which does better on pay-per-view.
"We'll see who does better numbers, and then we're going to sit there and we'll have a discussion with the pound-for-pound best promoter in the game in Dana White and we'll try to make something happen," Usman said, adding that he hasn't yet talked to White about his idea.
Usman made it clear that a fight with Alvarez would take place in the boxing ring, not the Octagon.
"He wouldn't dare come in here, let's be honest," Usman said. "That's the thing: We have to pursue these guys, because we're willing to take that risk. I don't know if they're willing to pursue us."
Usman, who's defended the UFC welterweight belt four times since capturing it in a March 2019 win over Tyron Woodley, offered praise for Alvarez. He said it'd be a difficult fight to win but that the Mexican might have a tougher time against an MMA fighter.
"He's a master at his craft," Usman said. "He's used to these boxers, he's used to the boxing speed and the boxing movements and things like that. We're different. Sometimes, different can be good. What's wrong with giving him a different look? Of course, it's a tall tree to climb. But we saw what happened the last time I was an underdog."