Nurmagomedov Calls Canelo The Best Boxer In The World, Slightly Above Fury

Khabib Nurmagomedov (Twitter @teamkhabib)

JAKARTA - Saul Alvarez had an extraordinary 2021 season and became a true champion by beating all the boxers in his division. This impressed many people, including Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The former UFC champion spoke after he met the Mexican boxer to say that Canelo was the best boxer he had ever met.

"A lot of boxers make a lot of money, I mean, they travel the world offering shows, but now, like [Anthony] Joshua, [Tyson] Fury, [Oleksandr] Usyk, [Vasiliy] Lomachenko and of course Canelo and many other big names in boxing. ," Khabib told CNN.

"Regarding Canelo, I think, really, that he is the best pound for pound (cross division) fighter in the world right now.

"Maybe the ones he's close to are Usyk and Tyson Fury, but I think Canelo is number one."

Canelo is the first boxer in history to become the undisputed champion of supermiddleweight, and Khabib also compared boxing to the sport he was in, MMA (mixed martial arts).

“I don't think boxing has stopped, because boxing was around long before MMA, how many years has it been? 120? 150? Boxing is one of the oldest sports in the world,” he recalls.

"And you know how many athletes, great champions, great people, boxing has been given, you know? Right now it looks like boxing is still at the top."