Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez just picked Oleksandr Usyk as the best fighter in the world after himself. The Mexican superstar made this surprising choice despite other top boxers like Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue being in the mix.
Canelo, who was once seen as the top pound-for-pound fighter, shared his thoughts in a recent chat with Ring Magazine. When asked if he thought Usyk was the best fighter in the world besides himself, Canelo said, "Yeah, of course."
He went on to praise the Ukrainian heavyweight, saying, "He's a very good fighter. I told him yesterday, you're f***ing good. He deserves it." The two fighters recently ran into each other in London.
Usyk's got a lot to back up Canelo's high opinion. He became the undisputed heavyweight champion in May 2024 by beating Tyson Fury and then won their rematch in December. Before that, he was undisputed at cruiserweight and beat Anthony Joshua twice.
Crawford and Inoue have their own impressive resumes. Crawford's a four-weight world champion and has been undisputed in two divisions. There's even talk about a historic fight between him and Canelo. Inoue's held all four belts in both bantamweight and super-bantamweight, and he's known for exciting knockouts in Japan.
But Usyk's achievements seem to have caught Canelo's eye the most. He's the first undisputed heavyweight champ in over 20 years, and he's beaten both Fury and Joshua twice each.
Usyk's not done yet. He says he wants to fight once or twice more before hanging up his gloves. He might face the winner of the IBF Champion Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker fight on February 22. If he stays unbeaten, he could become a two-time undisputed heavyweight champ.
As for Canelo, he's got his own big plans. Talks are looking good for a fight with Crawford later this year. Crawford would jump from super-welterweight all the way to super-middleweight for the chance to face the Mexican star.
With all these exciting matchups and potential records on the line, it's a great time to be a boxing fan.
