UFC pound-for-pound No 1 Kamaru Usman says he would stop boxing counterpart Saul "Canelo" Alvarez should the two face-off in a crossover boxing bout, a fight he thinks will happen in the near future.
The UFC welterweight champion, 15-0 in the world’s lead mixed martial arts promotion, has been tipped to make a temporary move into boxing later this year to take on Alvarez.
Usman, 34, has held the welterweight belt for three years, with five successful defences in that time – including once in Abu Dhabi, in July 2020 – lifting him to the top of the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings.
Alvarez, meanwhile, sits atop the boxing equivalent having reigned supreme at super middleweight to become the division’s undisputed champion.
Last week, Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz claimed the Nigerian would knock out Alvarez inside three rounds, while also saying “all these boxers are cowards because none of them want to come to MMA”.
Speaking on Sunday to US outlet MMA Junkie, Usman said of the possible money-spinner against Alvarez: “Absolutely. Why wouldn’t it be a possibility? He said it himself. Pound-for-pound versus pound-for-pound. And what Ali meant in that is, they expect us to go over there. We’re real fighters. What would happen if me and him was out in the street?
“We’re real fighters and they expect us to come in and participate in their sport, their art. That’s why Ali said that. But, at the end of the day, I’m willing to step in there. I’ve got the [courage] to step in there.
“So it is what it is. But I do think that fight 100 percent needs to happen? The pound-for-pound versus the pound-for-pound: everyone says it can’t be done until they see it done. I’ve said it before, I will stop him.”
Usman stops Masvidal at UFC 261
Although boxing-MMA crossovers have become increasingly more popular, the most recent truly transcendent event took place in 2017, when former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor stepped into the ring to fight boxing great Floyd Mayweather.
Mayweather, seeking then to retire undefeated as a professional at 50-0, comfortably dispatched McGregor with a 10th round TKO.
“That’s the thing – we’re coming to entertain,” Usman said. “The Mayweather-McGregor, they entertained people with the way they talked and the way they walked. And we know Conor, the way he entertains, and so does Floyd. I get that.
“But Floyd is the absolute best defensive boxer we’ve ever seen, even though he took a very different approach in that fight. That was still that type of fight.
“I’m a fighter, I’m going to come to fight. I’m always marching forward to fight and so is Canelo Alvarez. He marches forward to fight. He’s not just going to sit there and try to dodge punches all the time. He does doge punches, but he’s not trying to do only that and make it a defensive fight.
“And it’s not just that, we’re both the pound-for-pound best at the top of the sport right now. That’s never been done. It would be the greatest event in history and, of course, with [UFC president] Dana White behind me.”
On convincing White to green-light the Alvarez bout, Usman said: “Me and Dana haven’t talked about it, but it’s a fight that I want if Canelo wants to fight, and he said that’s he’s not opposed to the fight, then we’ll make the fight happen.
“It’s not too difficult. Dana White is the best promoter of the game for a reason. I think we can make that fight.”
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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360Vuz PROFILE
Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier
UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)
1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0
Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Scoreline
Chelsea 1
Azpilicueta (36')
West Ham United 1
Hernandez (73')
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20myZoi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Syed%20Ali%2C%20Christian%20Buchholz%2C%20Shanawaz%20Rouf%2C%20Arsalan%20Siddiqui%2C%20Nabid%20Hassan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2037%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Initial%20undisclosed%20funding%20from%20SC%20Ventures%3B%20second%20round%20of%20funding%20totalling%20%2414%20million%20from%20a%20consortium%20of%20SBI%2C%20a%20Japanese%20VC%20firm%2C%20and%20SC%20Venture%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
