Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez ready to take rivalry with Conor McGregor to the ring
Should UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor truly want to crossover into the boxing world, Floyd Mayweather Jr. isn’t his only option as a big-name opponent.
Mayweather and McGregor have both teased a potential mega-fight between the biggest draws in their respective sports for the better part of the past year.
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has now also let it be known he would be more than willing to fight McGregor during an interview with Fight Hub TV.
“If he wants to try out boxing, anytime he wants,” Alvarez said through an interpreter. “If he wants to come over to this side of the world and try boxing, anytime he wants, to see that it’s not as easy as he thinks.”
It’s actually the latest in a war or words between the star fighters.
Alvarez criticized McGregor after his loss to Nate Diaz in March, blaming his pride for the defeat. McGregor fired back before defeating Diaz in the August rematch during a conversation with the Los Angeles Times.
“If you look at the history of the fight game, especially in this new era, it’s full of stars cherry picking their opponents,” McGregor said. “When they hold a position of power, when they get a name, all of a sudden they pick weaker opponents. They look down their division. Nobody looks up a division. Nobody looks at true challenges.
“When you look at this Canelo situation, It’s an era of cherry picking. It’s not like that with me. I’m here to challenge myself. I’m training to go up two divisions, and it’s going to be a great fight.”
Of course, this rivalry will almost certainly be limited to verbal warfare.
The idea of McGregor boxing anyone at any time in the near future is absurd. He is under a long-term contract with the UFC and the organization is highly unlikely to allow such an endeavor.
The only option would be Alvarez or Mayweather signing a UFC deal and either engaging in a mixed martial arts bout or allowing the UFC to promote or co-promote the fight.
All of that coming together would be about a big an underdog as McGregor would be to either Alvarez or Mayweather in a boxing match.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.
