Veteran commentator and broadcaster Max Kellerman recently said, “Boxing is not as popular as it used to be anymore,” sparking a huge debate. Claiming that the UFC has become bigger, he praised Dana White for building a league like the NBA. But is that really true? Canelo Alvarez certainly doesn’t seem to agree with that notion, as he clapped back at Kellerman prior to his fight against Terence Crawford. Similarly, a former UFC fighter, Rob Whiteford, appeared to be on the same boat as ‘Saul’ regarding the status of boxing during an exclusive interview with EssentiallySports.

Rob Whiteford, Scotland’s first UFC fighter, claims that the sport of boxing is doing just fine. As per reports, $47 million was the live gate that the Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford fight earned last month, which is the third biggest in history. Clearly, that doesn’t look like boxing’s popularity has tanked in any sense. Whiteford suggests that the only people who make claims about the sport losing its popularity are the other promotions that exist in the entire combat sports landscape, which should not come as a surprise.

“Who’re the people saying it’s not popular… which is very strange? The only people I’ve ever heard saying it is like rival promotions that are boxing promotions, MMA promotions, kickboxing promotions. Stuff like that,” Robert Whiteford told Andrew Whitelaw during the exclusive interview with EssentiallySports. “They are the only people that seem to be saying it, but for a reason, obviously. To play the sport and they’re doing their job. So, it just depends on whom you listen to. But I think it’s all bulls–t. It seems to be thriving.”

The Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight also earned a massive 41 million viewership, which is another indication that the sport still has a big place in the combat sports world. They might just be able to generate that amount of viewership and ticket sales once again, but ‘Bud’s team has shut down any chances of a rematch.

Terence Crawford’s team claims there’s no reason for a rematch against Canelo Alvarez

On paper, Terence Crawford seemed to have had a tough task ahead of him since he was jumping multiple weight classes above to fight his Mexican counterpart. Everybody was siding with Canelo Alvarez and thought that he’d come out on top simply because of the size discrepancy. However, Crawford put on a clinic and secured a dominant win. His coach, Bernie Davis, claims his win over ‘Saul’ was convincing enough for people to stop talking about a rematch, even though their fight was a huge financial success.

“He thought Crawford was going to run like William Scull. He thought Crawford couldn’t hurt him. I don’t see any calls for a rematch because Bud handled him,” Terence Crawford’s coach told MillCity Boxing. Similarly, Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn also has a similar opinion about a possible rematch, claiming that ‘Bud’s style of fighting will always get the better of Canelo. “A certain style is not good for Canelo… When I talked about the Crawford fight with Canelo two years ago, he had no interest in that fight because he knew.”

Well, even if the rematch, which could be a big one for the sport, doesn’t happen, boxing will continue to thrive. Why? Because the sport has always been able to make a lot of money with the biggest fights. And since some people like Max Kellerman seem to believe that the UFC is bigger, Dana White‘s entry into boxing is only going to do good for the sport. Moreover, Jake Paul, who is preparing for the Gervonta Davis fight, which has been touted to be even bigger than the Canelo-Crawford fight, has also drawn a lot of eyes. What do you think?