Kamaru Usman clears the air with Canelo over previous boxing callouts

Kamaru Usman and Canelo Alvarez at the moment are cool and have cleared the air on their contentious previous on social media.

A couple of years in the past, when Usman reigned as UFC welterweight champion, he relentlessly referred to as for a cross-over boxing match in opposition to Alvarez, who’s arguably the most important star in boxing and regarded by many because the pound-for-pound better of latest years. Alvarez, who by no means paid an excessive amount of consideration to the MMA world, would generally ignore Usman and generally clap again, saying he was simply in want of a “payday.”

Now, a number of years later, after their back-and-forth, Usman had Alvarez on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast forward of Alvarez’s Sept. 14 title protection in opposition to Edgar Berlanga and made positive to handle the “elephant within the room” proper off the bat.

“Clearly, after I was champion within the UFC, I used to be welterweight champion of the world, and also you dominated as champion in boxing, there have been some talks about doubtlessly preventing,” Usman mentioned. “At the beginning, I’m a fan of yours. I’m a fan of your work and the whole lot you’ve accomplished within the sport of boxing. I believe it’s necessary for us to clear the air and have this sort of dialog.”

Usman defined to Alvarez that the callout was by no means private. It got here from wanting to check Canelo and eager to safe an enormous cash combat.

“Clearly we’re rivals, and we need to compete, and naturally once we began this competitors in our respective sports activities, we didn’t essentially get in it for cash, you get into it to be the very best at it, to compete. However then you definitely get to a sure level the place, ‘Hey, the paycheck makes it worthwhile.’ All of the years that you simply work, and you set into it, the paycheck makes it worthwhile.

“You had been in a spot the place you had been dominating everybody to the purpose the query was being requested, ‘Who else can problem this man? Is there something that anybody has for him?’ At that second, I threw my hat in, let me a minimum of give him a unique look. I’m not a technical boxer. I really feel like you recognize all of the items of the puzzle relating to boxing. … I felt that mine is completely different. I’m a combined martial artist. I’m an MMA fighter. They may come slower, however the mixtures could be completely different from what you’re used to. In order that’s why I threw my hand within the combine and mentioned I’d love to provide him one thing completely different, a unique look. And who is aware of, on the finish of the day, we all know as fighters something can occur in a combat. That’s what it was. I hope there’s no laborious emotions as a result of I respect you as a fighter.”

Alvarez was receptive to Usman’s feedback and mentioned they had been cool. He did follow his weapons in saying that Usman has no enterprise with him within the ring, but in addition vice versa.

“No laborious emotions,” Alvarez mentioned. “I believe it is a lovely sport, and also you’re the very best in your sport, and I’m the very best in my sport, and I respect that. We’re by no means going to know as a result of we by no means made the combat, however I at all times mentioned that’s why you selected MMA and I selected boxing. If I’m going in there with you in an MMA combat, it’s going to be completely different. If you happen to come to my sport, it’s going to be completely different. I do know the mentality of, ‘I can do it. I can do that,’ however whenever you go within the ring it’s very completely different.”