Mexican boxing icon Canelo Alvarez has shed light on his now-viral confrontation with esteemed commentator Max Kellerman, which captured headlines 10 months ago. The incident, where Alvarez publicly challenged Kellerman's assertion about the sport's popularity, occurred during a press conference leading up to Alvarez's highly anticipated bout against Terence Crawford in September 2025.
During the event, Kellerman had praised Dana White, the UFC promoter, for allegedly elevating the mixed martial arts organisation to a status surpassing boxing. Kellerman stated at the time, "Dana White is the greatest combat-sports promoter in my lifetime. He built an institution. You know why boxing is 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." These comments were met with boos from the Las Vegas crowd at the T-Mobile Arena.
Alvarez, then 36, directly addressed Kellerman, asserting, "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." This retort quickly became a talking point across the boxing world.
Speaking recently to journalist Ariel Helwani, Alvarez clarified his motivation, stating he felt it necessary to counter Kellerman's narrative. "[I said it] because he started saying, ‘Right now UFC is much better than boxing,’ which it’s not. It’s not, and that’s what I said to him," Alvarez explained. He emphasised that his comments were not a slight against Dana White, whom he respects, but a defence of his sport. "Don’t say... 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. So [it was] just that, but I don’t want to disrespect anybody. I’m always gonna defend my sport, because boxing is No 1."
Two days after the press conference, Alvarez suffered a points defeat to Crawford at Allegiant Stadium, losing his undisputed super-middleweight titles. Crawford's victory made him the sport's first three-weight undisputed champion in the four-belt era and preserved his unbeaten record. Following the fight, the 38-year-old Crawford announced his retirement from competition, while Alvarez underwent elbow surgery. Alvarez is now scheduled to face Christian Mbili on 31 October in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where Mbili will defend the WBC super-middleweight title, which he was awarded following Crawford's retirement.