(Photo Credit: Martin McNeil – Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions) By Dan Ambrose: Amir Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) says he sees WBC middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) as a monster, but he’s not worried about him. He feels that this is his moment to shine by beating the bigger fighter and becoming a star in the process.
Khan will be facing Canelo on May 7 on HBO pay-per-view. If everything goes right, Khan will be crowned the new WBC 160lb champion and he’ll be a star.
Surprisingly, Khan didn’t look that much smaller than Canelo during Monday’s press conference in London, UK. Some boxing fans believe that Khan had lifts in his shoes to put him at the same height as Canelo. Who knows? What I was looking at was the size difference between them. Canelo doesn’t look that much bigger than Khan.
We already know that Canelo doesn’t have one-punch power like some of the other middleweights in the division like Daniel Jacobs, Gennady Golovkin and Andy Lee. This means Khan has a fighting chance to win this fight unless he gets stupid and backs up against the ropes and just stands there. Yeah, Canelo will pound the stuffing out of Khan under conditions like that.
“This my time to shine,” said Khan to skysports.com. “I want to show the world how good I am. I’m up against a monster, in a way, someone who is a great fighter and a dangerous fighter. People have asked me why I want to move up to middleweight to fight this great fighter, this great puncher, and I’ve said I believe I can win this fight. I believe I can take his power, take his speed, and that I have the moves to win this fight.”
Khan has a decent chance of winning the fight if he doesn’t get nailed with one of Canelo’s big uppercuts. That punch by far is Canelo’s best weapon in his arsenal, and he tries to throw even at long distance. Canelo is in love with that punch. If his opponents aren’t cooperating by standing close enough for him to throw it, he’ll throw it from long distance. Khan can take advantage of that potentially to nail him with something if he tries that. Canelo may get sloppy and/or desperate if Khan doesn’t accommodate him getting in close enough for him to throw his uppercuts.
“What will win this fight is speed; determination and skill. My dream has always been to fight the best and test myself and in Canelo I’m facing just that,” Khan said.
This would be a tremendous blow to Canelo’s career if he loses the fight to Khan. It would also be a big blow to Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, because Khan has obviously been picked out because he feels that Canelo can win this fight. If Khan is able to use the blueprint that Floyd Mayweather Jr. created to defeat Canelo, it would a huge defeat for both Canelo and Golden Boy. Needless to say, they would push very, very hard for an immediate rematch. Khan would have a chance to get a really big payday the second time around.
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