Not satisfied with UFC title, Usman wants to face boxing phenomenon

Kamaru Usman grimaced playfully and tilted his head. He had just defended his welterweight title at UFC 268 in a five-round match against Colby Covington at Madison Square Garden.

The 75-pound belt rested beside him on a table, its leather-wrapped gold plate gleaming as brightly as the lapels of Usman’s metallic-colored suit and diamond choker.

Earlier this week, Usman proposed a fight against Saúl Álvarez, the best boxer in all weight divisions, who –also on Saturday night– scored a masterful knockout against Caleb Plant in Las Vegas. Usman’s boss – Dana White, the UFC president – ​​played down the possibility of a megalut involving the best of two disciplines, speaking to reporters minutes before Usman’s interview. But the fighter disagrees.

“Dana doesn’t know that,” said Usman, “I want something to scare me.”

The prospect of finding himself in the ring in front of the best boxer on the planet doesn’t seem to frighten Usman, but White and the UFC officials are right to face this potential bonanza with hesitation. In an era when the lines separating combat sports are blurring, organizers appear to have cast aside competitive logic in order to attract paying fans. In the case of Usman and Álvarez, the reward may not be a success similar to other experiments performed recently.

Álvarez draws audiences, but he produced an unmistakable result, knocking out Plant precisely to unify the super middle category titles. Most spectators at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas rooted for Álvarez, a Mexican known by the nickname “Canelo,” and the Showtime cable channel built the entire event around him. People from all over the United States also paid for the right to watch the fight on pay-per-view, including White. A photo circulated on Twitter showing him watching the fight on a monitor, next to the octagon, while Rose Namajunas and Zhang Weili battled for the 52-pound category title in the second most important bout of the UFC fight night.

White later stated that he had bet $100,000 on an Alvarez win by knockout. “I watched Canelo’s fight tonight,” he said, when asked if Usman should fight Alvarez. “And he doesn’t want to fight Canelo. Come on, guys, better stop it.”

This is not the first time White has had to face the prospect of fights between athletes of different sports. He allowed Conor McGregor, a loudmouthed UFC fighter, to face boxer Floyd Mayweather in 2017, a spectacle that resulted in at least $30 million in profit for McGregor. Amounts like that are rare in MMA contests, and while Usman’s purse for a match like this is likely to be much lower than Alvarez’s, the amount would still likely be higher than what he gets against MMA opponents.

Two brothers who operate popular YouTube channels, Jake Paul and Logan Paul, have been leading a turnaround in combat sports for the past 12 months. Logan Paul fought Mayweather last quarter in an exhibition match, and Jake Paul defeated relatively easy opponents: a retired basketball player, and two MMA fighters who left their best form behind a few years ago. The specifics seem ludicrous to traditional boxing fans, but the two brothers’ large social media following allowed the fights to be successful.

Usman is not a star, unlike the brothers Paul and McGregor, and has stated that he has no intention of pursuing that kind of fame. But if his fights were watched more, he would make more money. When asked if he would face Álvarez in a fight with proceeds donated to charity, Usman laughed.

“Of course we want the money,” said Usman.

The challenge of facing Álvarez also intrigues Usman because he has already defeated most of the top fighters in his weight class.

“Don’t get me wrong, he’s a real master at what he does,” said Usman. “I love his work and respect him so much, which is why I want to challenge myself.”

Usman is highly respected in the MMA world. After beating Covington, White and others said he might one day be compared to the greatest welterweights of all time, like Georges St.-Pierre.

Still, it’s clear that Usman doesn’t have a fan base comparable to Alvarez. Cheering for him didn’t always manifest itself in Madison Square Garden, and the crowd for Covington, a fervent supporter of former President Donald Trump and an athlete who made conservative political positions a central part of his persona, was far noisier.

Covington’s encouragement grew in the final portion of the fight, when he bounced back from two knockdowns in the second round and came close to winning against Usman in the later rounds.

If Usman hadn’t gotten the knockdowns, the judges could easily have come to a different decision in his victory on points, which left room for debate and an easy path to a third fight between him and Covington.

In addition to Usman and Covington, other fighters attracted attention on the UFC 268 program. Lightweights Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler had the best fight of the night, a fast-paced duel that Gaethje won, even though the two left the octagon bloodied and had to be referred to the hospital for examinations. Namajunas also defended his category title against Zhang, winning on points in a split decision.

If Usman were to face Álvarez in boxing, the differences between boxing and MMA, both in the sports itself and in the remuneration of athletes in both modalities, would complicate the promotion of the event.

Álvarez said he has no interest in fighting Usman, and fan interest has not yet grown to the point where he has changed his position. But should a fight happen, Usman said he is ready to compete in Álvarez’s sport. He would also accept to face him in an MMA fight, he said, but he doubts that Álvarez would be willing to try.

“We are the ones who are willing to go out there and take the risk,” said Usman. “They wouldn’t dare come here and take the same risk.”