Last Saturday night Canelo Alvarez and Sergey Kovalev waited patiently inside their dressing rooms at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for a fight 2,500 miles away to finish.
DAZN, broadcasters of the bout in which Canelo was seeking a world title in a FOURTH weight class, opted to wait until the end of the Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal ‘BMF’ bout in New York City to end before making their walk to the ring but the world famous Mexican fighter might not have to wait much longer for Masvidal if ‘Gamebred’ gets his wish.
Speaking on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday, Masvidal said that he is focussing on the potential challenge of the 53-1-2 boxer after three fights in 2019 which ushered the American Top Team fighter to the top of the line in the list of the UFC’s welterweight contenders.
“If Canelo wants to get his ass kicked that’s a fight I’ll take. I’m here to get the biggest cheques possible,” he said. “I’m dead serious about fighting Canelo Alvarez. If they give me nice little change, I will take my talents over there. I feel like I can shock the world.”
Boxing and mixed martial arts crossovers have been incredibly popular in the years since Conor McGregor transitioned to the boxing ring to face Floyd Mayweather in 2017, with several mixed martial artists following the Irishman’s lead. More recently Tyson Fury, the lineal heavyweight boxing champion, has also suggested that he may contemplate stepping into the cage at some point in his career.
Masvidal, though, wants to explore this possibility immediately despite any disadvantages that he may have stylistically.
“Canelo is a better boxer and has thrown 10,000 more jabs than me because that’s what he does morning and night, just box. So yeah he is a better boxer. But can I bring some elements that boxers aren’t used to, that are in the legal rounds of boxing and throw Canelo completely off his game? F**k yes!
“If I got those boxing gloves on I’m not afraid to break my hand so I’ll be able to hit a bit extra harder. I feel like I can be a legitimate ass threat in there,” he declared.
However, any potential match-up between the two will be complicated by the less than favourable relationship between UFC boss Dana White and Canelo’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya.
