The beef between pound-for-pound superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) and former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (20-4, 9 KOs) was the stuff of legend. Over the last few years, Usman has unceasingly called for a cross-over boxing match against Alvarez, which in turn led to mounting tensions between the duo.
Now, Canelo prepares to put his WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight titles on the line against Edgar Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs). He also put the bad blood between Usman and himself to rest.
Canelo was recently a guest at Usman’s ‘Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru and Henry’ podcast. In conversation, the duo even delved into the rather unpleasant scenario that they found themselves in. “First and foremost, I’m a fan of yours. I’m a fan of your work and everything you’ve done in the sport of boxing. I think it’s important for us to clear the air and have this type of conversation,” ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ said while referring to the super middleweight champion.
Usman further mentioned that owning to the fact that both Alvarez and he were at the top of their respective games, there were talks of them facing each other inside the ring.
“You were in a spot where you were dominating everyone to the point the question was being asked, ‘Who else can challenge this guy? Is there anything that anyone has for him?’ At that moment, I threw my hat in. Let me at least give him a different look. I’m not a technical boxer. I feel like you know all the pieces of the puzzle when it comes to boxing. I felt that mine is different,” he added. “That’s what it was. I hope there’s no hard feelings because I respect you as a fighter.” Alvarez nodded in agreement and mentioned that they were cool. But not before reminding Usman that the situation inside the ring is “very different.”
“Energized Him To Destroy him”
Meanwhile, Canelo’s upcoming fight against Berlanga is the talk of the town. And it has certainly caught the attention of boxing legend Bernard Hopkins.
“Canelo gets the knockout within six or seven rounds,” he said in an interview with Little Giant Boxing. Hopkins further mentioned that Berlanga has to bring in everything he’s got to defeat Alvarez. However, he feels that Berlanga’s trash talk might have cost him the victory. “You know the worst thing he did to Canelo? He energized him to destroy him. You know, sometimes you keep your mouth shut, and the guy doesn’t beat you up that bad. He leaves you with a career to fight another fight one day. He blew that. Canelo took that off the table,” he said.
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