Kamaru Usman and Canelo Alvarez Squash Rivalry, Share Mutual Respect: “No hard feelings”
Kamaru Usman and Canelo Alvarez have officially squashed their beef.
Chances are, you completely forgot the two combat sports icons were even feuding. A few years back when ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ was reigning over the UFC’s welterweight division, he began to relentlessly call for a crossover boxing bout with the sports’ top star.
Alvarez largely ignored Usman’s prodding on social media aside from the occasional dig accusing Usman of fishing for a bigger payday.
Fast forward to 2024, Usman hosted Alvarez on his popular Pound 4 Pound podcast with co-host Henry Cejudo. There to promote his upcoming clash with Edgar Berlanga on September 14 in Las Vegas, Alvarez, and Usman were quick to address the elephant in the room.
“Obviously, when I was champion in the UFC, I was welterweight champion of the world, and you dominated as champion in boxing, there were some talks about potentially fighting,” Usman said. “First and foremost, I’m a fan of yours. I’m a fan of your work and everything you’ve done in the sport of boxing. I think it’s important for us to clear the air and have this type of conversation” (h/t MMA Junkie).
Usman went on to explain that the callouts were never meant to be personal. He simply wanted to test himself against the best of the best and, as Alvarez suspected, secure a big bag while doing it.
“Obviously we’re competitors, and we want to compete, and of course when we started this competition in our respective sports, we didn’t necessarily get in it for money, you get into it to be the best at it, to compete,” Usman continued. “But then you get to a certain point where, ‘Hey, the paycheck makes it worthwhile.’ All the years that you work, and you put into it, the paycheck makes it worthwhile.
“You were in a spot where you were dominating everyone to the point the question was being asked, ‘Who else can challenge this guy? Is there anything that anyone has for him?’ At that moment, I threw my hat in, let me at least give him a different look. I’m not a technical boxer. I feel like you know all the pieces of the puzzle when it comes to boxing. … I felt that mine is different.
“I’m a mixed martial artist. I’m an MMA fighter. They might come slower, but the combinations might be different from what you’re used to. So that’s why I threw my hand in the mix and said I’d love to give him something different, a different look. And who knows, at the end of the day, we know as fighters anything can happen in a fight. That’s what it was. I hope there’s no hard feelings because I respect you as a fighter.”
Canelo Alvarez has no hard feelings toward kamaru Usman
Alvarez holds no hard feelings towards Usman but doubled down on his belief that the former UFC champion has no business challenging him inside the squared circle. Usman echoed a similar sentiment while discussing the notion of Alvarez testing himself in the Octagon.
“No hard feelings,” Alvarez said. “I think this is a beautiful sport, and you’re the best in your sport, and I’m the best in my sport, and I respect that. We’re never going to know because we never made the fight, but I always said that’s why you chose MMA and I chose boxing. If I go in there with you in an MMA fight, it’s going to be different. If you come to my sport, it’s going to be different. I know the mentality of, ‘I can do it. I can do this,’ but when you go in the ring it’s very different.”
