Kamaru Usman would rather face Canelo Alvarez for a guaranteed payday over any "gamble" against Jake Paul.
UFC welterweight champion Usman has teased a boxing switch over the last year or two as he eyes a shot at the big financial prizes available in the squared circle. His ideal opponent would be Alvarez, who he has called out on multiple occasions as he seeks a lucrative crossover bout in the same mould as Conor McGregor's 2017 clash with Floyd Mayweather.
The Nigerian has also discussed facing the challenge of Paul, who has already fought UFC stars Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley in the boxing ring. However, he would give his potential rival a puncher's chance of winning the fight, despite predicting he will treat it as a walk in the park.
“Listen, me and (Paul) get in a scrap right now, he could touch me,” Usman told I Am Athlete podcast when assessing a potential switch to boxing. “I’m not naive or ignorant enough to think – let them put it on the news. I’m a realist. I know I’m gonna dog walk him, but at the same time, everyone has a puncher’s chance.
“Me fighting Jake Paul, I’m helping him. I beat Jake Paul, nobody cares. You’re supposed to beat him. I still get a bank account now. I still get that. I beat Canelo, biggest athlete in the world, not even close, 100million in the bank. If I’m gonna gamble, I’m gonna gamble well.”
Usman has previously been called out by Paul, who is eyeing fights with leading names in the UFC, including Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor. However, the Nigerian is more focused on a potential shot at Alvarez, which he believes would be his claim to become pound-for-pound king of combat sports.
Would you like to see Kamaru Usman face Canelo Alvarez or Jake Paul? Let us know in the comments section below!
Alvarez previously dismissed Usman's attempts to secure a fight against him in the sport as a payday grab, but he later made a U-turn on his stance by refusing to rule out the bout taking place after he completes his boxing goals. A fight with either Canelo or Paul will likely earn Usman his career-highest purse but it will not happen before he defends his UFC welterweight strap against Leon Edwards next weekend at the Vivint Smart Home Arena.
When assessing a potential showdown with content creator Paul, Usman also demanded he is matched an offer of £83million to step in the ring. "These guys, they making a lot of noise," Usman said during an interview on Club Shay Shay. "That’s good. They got the YouTubers, and they got the new generation, these new kids involved and watching them. That’s fine.
"But they don’t equate to dollars. It’s not them - Jake Paul, he says, ‘we're doing these numbers’. You can add up every fight Jake Paul has had and their pay-per-view numbers weren’t more than what I did in my last fight. He can say this or that. Write me a cheque for $100M Jake Paul, I’ll be there to kick your a** next week."
