Kamaru Usman is interested in boxing Canelo Alvarez, but not Jake Paul.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is set to face Leon Edwards later this month at UFC 278. The bout will be a rematch of their previous encounter, at a UFC Fight Night in December 2015. On that night, Usman scored a unanimous decision victory.
For the rematch, the UFC welterweight champion has let it known that he’s looking to score a finish. That confidence has likely been brought on by Usman’s clear improvement in the striking department. His improvement has been shown by his devastating knockouts of Jorge Masvidal and Gilbert Burns.
Beyond just showcasing his improvement in MMA, Kamaru Usman would like to show how good he is as a boxer. Over the last year, the 35-year-old has called for a matchup with Canelo Alvarez. The Mexican superstar is set to face Gennadiy Golovkin next month.
Despite both men being booked, the UFC fighter believes the matchup will happen at some point. Furthermore, Usman has clarified why he is shooting for a fight with an established boxer, rather than a matchup with Jake Paul.
‘The Problem Child’ has made a career out of boxing MMA fighters, but Kamaru Usman isn’t interested. As he explained on the I Am Athlete podcast, he only has his eyes on Canelo Alvarez.
“Me fighting Jake Paul, I’m helping him. I beat Jake Paul, nobody cares. You’re supposed to beat him. I still get a bank account now, I still get that. I beat Canelo, biggest athlete in the world, not even close, 100 million in the bank. If I’m gonna gamble, I’m gonna gamble well.” (h/t MMAJunkie)
Kamaru Usman continued, “Absolutely [fighting Jake Paul is a risk]. Listen, me and him get in a scrap right now, he could touch me. I’m not naive or ignorant enough to think – let them put it on the news. I’m a realist. I know I’m gonna dog walk him, but at the same time, everyone has a puncher’s chance.”
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