Canelo Alvarez has shed light on his viral put-down of veteran boxing commentator Max Kellerman, which occurred 10 months ago during a press conference for his fight with Terence Crawford.
At the event in Las Vegas, Kellerman praised Dana White for building the UFC into a promotion bigger than boxing, prompting boos from the crowd. The 36-year-old Mexican responded directly to the commentator, saying: “Hey Max, boxing is always [getting] bigger and bigger and bigger. Don’t say boxing is not big enough. Boxing is big, you know how big boxing is.”
In a recent interview, Canelo clarified his motive: “He started saying, ‘Right now UFC is much better than boxing,’ which it’s not... Don’t lie to the people, because boxing is boxing; that’s why the UFC fighters want to come and fight in a boxing match. I’m always gonna defend my sport, because boxing is No 1.”
Two days after that press conference, Canelo lost his undisputed super-middleweight titles to Crawford, who won on points to become the first three-weight undisputed champion in the four-belt era. The 38-year-old American has since retired from boxing.
Canelo, who underwent elbow surgery post-fight, will return to the ring on 31 October in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to face Christian Mbili. Mbili was awarded the WBC super-middleweight title after Crawford retired, having previously held the interim version.
