"Why not?" - Michael Bisping gives his verdict on winner of potential boxing match between Kamaru Usman and Canelo Alvarez
Michael Bisping has had his say on a potential fight between MMA great Kamaru Usman and boxing megastar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. Usman has recently been lobbying for a professional boxing match against Alvarez. Although Alvarez has been tentative about boxing Usman, he’d recently insinuated that he wouldn’t completely shut the door on the matchup.
Bisping answered a question regarding the dream matchup between Usman and Alvarez on his YouTube channel. ‘The Count’ suggested that he foresees Alvarez beating Usman in a boxing match. He added, however, that he’d still be interested in watching the fight:
“I mean, listen, Usman is the pound-for-pound number-one guy in mixed martial arts right now. So, I’m not gonna sit here and disrespect him. I’m not gonna sit here and say that he can’t try and achieve lofty things – Because good for him."
"You wanna try and achieve new things. You wanna challenge yourself. You wanna go into new realms and go up against the best. Why not? Why not? Good for him. Do I think he could beat Canelo in a straight boxing match? I don’t think so. Would I watch it? One hundred percent.”
Additionally, ‘The Count’ suggested that he’d support the fight coming to fruition, as it would be massive for Usman, Alvarez, combat sports fans, and sports as a whole. Furthermore, the former UFC Middleweight Champion asserted that both Usman and Alvarez would make a considerable amount of money if the fight did materialize.
UFC president Dana White has consistently maintained that he isn’t interested in letting Usman risk facing Alvarez in a boxing match.
Watch Michael Bisping address a possible Usman-Alvarez boxing match in the video below:
Leon Edwards cautions Kamaru Usman against boxing Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is set to fight Dmitry Bivol for the WBA (Super) Light Heavyweight Title on May 7. Kamaru Usman is expected to defend his UFC welterweight title in a rematch against Leon Edwards next.
"He's got the fight, yeah!"
@danawhite says as soon as @USMAN84kg's hand is healed they would like to make the @Leon_edwardsmma fight! 🏆
#UFCLondon | Saturday 6pm | BT Sport 1 HD https://t.co/WR2YKe39MZ
Speaking to MMA Junkie, Edwards said that Kamaru Usman made several fundamental mistakes in his boxing. Additionally, advising Usman to steer clear of boxing Alvarez, Edwards said:
"That's more like a payday job. Obviously, he has fell in love with his hands. And obviously been enough success in the octagon with his boxing. And now since moving to Trevor [Wittman], so, you know? But I think technically boxing is boxing and MMA is MMA you know. And he makes a lot of fundamental mistakes and I don't think he is ready for that level of just pure boxing."