By Dan Ambrose: Super featherweight Rod Salka (21-3, 4 KOs), who is known for being the opponent for Danny Garcia in 2014 in a catch-weight, says that he sees WBC middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs0 defeating Amir Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) in their fight on May 7.
Salka thinks Khan has the better boxing skills than Canelo. However, he still thinks Canelo is still going to get to Khan eventually and beat him. Salka is hoping that Khan can win the fight somehow, but he’s not willing to bet on that happening.
“Salka thinks it’s going to be an interesting fight for as long as it lasts. Salka notes that Floyd Mayweather Jr. made Canelo look bad in his win over him three years ago in 2013. However, Salka doesn’t see Khan as being in Mayweather’s class.
“Khan’s fast, he’s quick, he can box, and Canelo’s going to be the bigger, stronger guy coming forward trying to take him out,” said Salka to Dontae’s Boxing Nation. “Can Khan do what Mayweather did to Canelo or is Canelo going to walk through him and catch him with something and knock him out? I think Canelo is probably going to win the fight, but I’m interested. I don’t know. I wouldn’t put money on it. If he doesn’t get touched up, you know what I mean? If he doesn’t get touched up and can move, and hopefully Canelo got a little bit better since his other fights. He’s not as robotic. [Floyd] Mayweather made him look really silly. Obviously, Khan is not Mayweather. Amir Khan has the better skills [than Canelo]. There’s more to it than just that. I think Canelo’s going to get him. I think Canelo’s going to win the fight. If I had to put money on it, I would say that. But I wouldn’t mind seeing Khan sneak in there and win the fight,” said Salka.
Khan does have the better skills of the two, but he’s going to be giving up a ton in the way of size to the heavier Canelo.
Since his 2nd round knockout loss to Danny Garcia in 2014, Salka has won his last two fights in beating Noel Echevarria and Monty Meza Clay. Salka hasn’t lost since the Garcia fight, but he also hasn’t fought anyone remotely good since that fight. What will hyappen when Salka gets in with a good opponent at super featherweight is anyone’s guess. Salka is in the right division in fighting at super featherweight rather than at lightweight or light welterweight.
It wasn’t a fair match-up when Salka moved up to welterweight to fight Danny Garcia in a catch-weight fight at 142lbs in 2014. The argument in favor of Garcia fighting Salka at the time was he needed an opponent to get him ready for fighting in the welterweight division. But it didn’t make much sense in Garcia fighting a lightweight rather than a welterweight or even a light welterweight. If you’re trying to get ready to fight in the next division above you, it doesn’t make sense to pick an opponent from two divisions below that weight class and ask him to come up to welterweight for a catch-weight fight.
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