It seems the UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has some lofty goals for what could come next if he is victorious on Saturday night at UFC 268. And that could include a co-promoted switch to boxing to face the pound-for-pound king of the sweet science Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Usman (19-1) has a major test in front of him on Nov. 6 inside New York’s Madison Square Garden. He will defend his title against top-ranked 170-pound talent, and former interim champion, Colby Covington (16-2). A man that gave the reigning division king his stiffest test by far in their first matchup two years ago.
However, “The Nigerian Nightmare” has a great deal of confidence heading into the bout since he beat “Chaos” in that aforementioned bout at UFC 245, and he has only gotten better since then. It’s why he is already plotting what could come next if he successfully defends his belt for the fifth straight time. And that plan includes a boxing bout with the biggest star in combat sports “Canelo” Alvarez.
Could Kamaru Usman vs Canelo Alvarez be a possibility in 2022?
“Since when have we seen the pound-for-pound mixed martial artist go up against the pound-for-pound boxer both in their prime? Not when they’re old and retired, [and promoters are] trying to pull them back. Both in their prime. I think that’s something that [could be the biggest fight] ever in history,” Usman said during his Wednesday media day press conference. “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 I might risk leaving my daughter for another 12 weeks for. That’s something that I’m looking at. God willing, this Saturday we do what we need to do [against Covington], and why not?”
Alvarez will also be competing on the same night as Usman. He’ll be facing unbeaten Caleb Plant in a super middleweight title fight in Las Vegas. That event, which will broadcast on Showtime pay-per-view will be going head-to-head with UFC 268 while it airs on ESPN+ PPV.
Usman hopes a Alvarez fight interests Dana White enough to co-promote
The welterweight champion and co-headliner of UFC 268 seemed to relish the opportunity to battle for viewers with the boxing superstar. Just like he savors the possibility of a fight with Alvarez. It’s something he is quite serious about and plans to talk with UFC President Dana White about in the hopes a co-promotion deal could be put together between the organization and Alvarez’s promoters in Showtime.
It’s something White has done in the past when he was willing to work with Showtime to put together a matchup between boxing great Floyd Mayweather and former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor in 2017.
“We’ll see who does better. We’re both in the business of entertainment nowadays. He’s gonna entertain on the same night, so will we. We’ll see who does better numbers. Then we’re gonna sit there, we’ll have a discussion with the pound-for-pound best promoter in the game Dana White and we’ll try to make something happen,” said Usman.
“Pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world versus pound-for-pound boxer in the world, promoted by the pound-for-pound [promoter] Dana White, why not? … “That’s one thing I love about Dana, if it makes money it makes sense. Hopefully, we have that conversation.
Obviously, a fight between the two in the Octagon isn’t a possibility, and Usman is fully aware of that. But that is part of why the 34-year-old is intrigued by the idea. He knows he would be a massive underdog against Alvarez, and the fear in that immense challenge is very interesting to the reigning UFC welterweight king.
“Come on now, he wouldn’t dare come in here. Let’s be honest,” he said. “That’s the thing. We have to pursue these guys because we’re willing to take the risk. I don’t know if they’re willing to pursue us. There’s a reason that [fight] scares me because he’s a master at his craft. … Of course, it’s a tall tree to climb but we saw what happened the last time I was an underdog.”
UFC 268 takes place on Saturday and begins at 6 pm ET with the preliminary card on ESPN News and ESPN+. The main card PPV follows at 10 pm ET exclusively on ESPN+.
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