Kamaru Usman reveals hilarious inspiration he took from Mike Tyson during early UFC days
Kamaru Usman has opened up about the hilarious inspiration he took from boxing legend Mike Tyson during his early UFC days.
The former UFC welterweight champion recently appeared on Mike Tyson's HotBoxin' podcast. While discussing a variety of topics during the show, 'Iron Mike' revealed that he used to shower with his championship belt back in the day.
Interestingly, Usman hilariously drew inspiration from that and wanted to mimic Mike Tyson's act of showering with the belt if he went on to win one in the UFC. Despite becoming the UFC welterweight champion later in his career, Usman never took a shower with his championship belt. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' said:
"Then I had seen a picture of you with the belt in the shower, and I said, ‘If I’m ever fortunate enough to win a belt, I’m taking a shower with that.’ I never did it, though, I never did it. It was so nice and shiny."
Watch the clip below:
Would you shower with the belt?🤣
All NEW episode of #Hotboxin' w/ @MikeTyson featuring @USMAN84kg is available here: youtu.be/Md2YFko8evA https://t.co/unV6fgWsXj
Watch the full interview below:
Kamaru Usman boxing: 'The Nigerian Nightmare' once called out Canelo Alvarez
Kamaru Usman was once rooting for a fight against Canelo Alvarez in the squared circle. The two fighters even had a back-and-forth online with the Mexican suggesting that Usman wanted to fight just because he wanted a payday.
Speaking about a potential fight against Canelo Alvarez during a media appearance at UFC 274, Usman had this to say:
"You know at the end of the day… You know it is what it is, Canelo is the best pound-for-pound boxer. I am the best pound-for-pound mixed-martial-artist. I’m the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. And so I was courageous enough to want to challenge myself in that way. And he’s not. And the only thing he can say is payday."
Watch Kamaru Usman address Canelo Alvarez in the video below (5:30):
Despite Kamaru Usman wanting to fight Canelo Alvarez at one point in his career, a potential mega-fight is seemingly off the cards after 'The Nigerian Nightmare' suffered back-to-back losses to Leon Edwards in the UFC.
As of now, the former UFC welterweight champion is looking to fall back into the winning column in the UFC. Regardless, it will be interesting to see if he enters the squared circle in the future or not.