Jorge Masvidal told iFL TV that he is lining up his first fight of 2021 for either August or September. He spoke to the boxing site backstage at Saturday night’s Canelo Alvarez vs. Avni Yildirim super middleweight championship bout in Miami. Masvidal was working the event as a Spanish color commentator for ESPN’s Latin America broadcast.
“Right now I’m just focusing on the MMA, I’ve got some guys to beat up,” Masvidal said when asked about any potential boxing aspirations. “August, September, somebody’s getting baptized and that’s what I’m worried about. People are going to like it when they find out who it is.”
Masvidal did not elaborate on an exact date or who he expects to fight. There has been some chatter of Masvidal and rival Colby Covington possibly serving as coaches on a revival of The Ultimate Fighter, but nothing official has been announced on that front. UFC President Dana White has made it clear he would like to see Masvidal and Covington face off sometime this year.
In his most recent outing, Masvidal stepped in as a short-notice replacement to challenge Kamaru Usman for the welterweight championship at UFC 251 in July. Usman defeated Masvidal by unanimous decision.
Though Masvidal insisted that he’s focused on his MMA career for now, he remains passionate about a potential move to boxing in the future.
“That’s definitely a dream,” Masvidal said. “My first love is boxing, I still love it to this day. Imagine if a champion from MMA could come over and fight a champion from boxing, for me it’s more than a dream. It’s like a fulfillment. I first fell in love with boxing before the UFC. I saw boxing before I ever saw the UFC, so it would just be full circle-type amazingness.”
Watch Masvidal’s interview with iFL TV below, where he also discusses how his “chances are limited” should he ever step into the ring with Canelo.
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