Thursday’s final press conference for Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford took an unexpected turn when host Max Kellerman shifted the conversation away from the fight and toward UFC CEO Dana White. Kellerman argued that boxing has lost ground to the UFC in terms of popularity and suggested that White could “save” the sport by replicating the UFC’s centralized model, likening it to institutions like the NBA or NFL.
“Dana White is the greatest combat sports promoter in my lifetime,” Kellerman said. “He built an institution. Boxing’s not as popular as it used to be anymore, right? UFC is really popular. That’s because of Dana White. He built something like the NBA and he’s about to do it for boxing. Again! For boxing, now! You want an NBA or an NFL in boxing; here it comes, because he knows how to build an institution. Should it boxing get bigger? Yes or no?”
Canelo Pushes Back
The comments drew boos from the fans in attendance, who clearly didn’t appreciate the comparison on the eve of one of the biggest boxing events of the decade. Canelo Alvarez himself quickly stepped in, cutting Kellerman off and defending the sport he’s carried as its biggest star.
“Hey Max, boxing is always bigger, bigger and big,” Canelo said. “Don’t say boxing is not big enough. Boxing is big. You know how big is boxing? Maybe it’s going to be bigger. But look, boxing is always big and big and bigger and bigger and bigger boxing.”
Kellerman responded lightly, quipping, “I love Canelo in English, by the way.”
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Robert LaMar is a writer for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
