By Jeff Aranow: Amir Khan (31-4, 19 KOs) took a risk in fighting the much larger middleweight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs) last night and the risk failed to pan out for the 29-year-old British fighter.
Khan was knocked out in the 6th round after he threw a lazy left hand that Canelo took advantage of by coming back with a right hand. That knockout was one of the worst of Khan’s pro career, as he was down on his back and looking hurt.
Khan was taken to the hospital after the fight to be checked out to see if he was okay after the knockout. This is a routine thing for someone that has been knocked out the way Khan was last night.
Khan said this in a Tweet sent from the hospital after the fight:
“I’m okay everyone. That’s boxing for you, congrats to Canelo; monster punch, much love to all the fans! #CaneloKhan”
Khan says he’ll be moving back down to welterweight to continue to campaign in that weight class. IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook has already offered to fight Khan. Brook said on his Twitter ”I’m here all British Showdown @amirkingkhan.”
It’s doubtful that Khan will take Brook up on his offer, especially with him coming off the kind of knockout he did last night. Khan has said in recent weeks that he wants to challenge WBC welterweight champion Danny “Swift” Garcia for his 147lb belt. However, this timing for that fight isn’t good, and it would be surprising if Khan takes that fight.
Khan needs one or two tune-up fights to make sure he’s okay and not feeling the after effects of the knockout. It would be a good idea for Khan to take six months off to recover from the KO loss. If he gets back in the ring too soon against a big puncher, he could get knocked out again and that would hurt his career.
“I’m a natural 147 (pounds) fighter, but this challenge came and it was very hard to turn down,” said Khan to skysports.com. “I want to be the best, I want to fight the best and that’s why I took this fight. I’m one of those fighters that will step in the ring with whoever. I showed my bravery by getting in the ring with Canelo, but this is boxing. I wanted to go out there as a champion,” said Khan.
Khan definitely showed a lot of courage in taking the fight with Canelo because he had to move up two weight divisions to take the fight. When you see Canelo not willing to fight someone five pounds heavier than him at 160 in Gennady Golovkin, it shows you how courageous Khan was in moving up to fight Canelo at 155.
What fans don’t realize is that Canelo was likely in the 170s after he rehydrated last night, and he might as well have been fighting at 160. Khan fought a true middleweight, and he was in an almost impossible position for the fight.
Khan out-boxed the 25-year-old Canelo through the first four rounds, and looked very good. The weight gain and the time out of the ring seemed to catch up to Khan in the 5th round, because he stopped throwing punches and looked like he was fading. Khan hadn’t fought since May of 2015, and he had packed on a lot of muscle weight in training camp.
It’s pretty clear that Khan’s able to carry that weight for a full 12 rounds without fading. He looked done after four rounds. When you bulk up the way Khan did, it takes a while before your body gets used to carrying that weight. That’s why fighters that bulk up need to take tune-up fights to gradually get accustomed to carrying the weight for longer periods of time. Khan didn’t do that.
Khan suffered a cut on his right eye in the 5th round after getting hit with a hard left hook from Canelo. Khan looked uncomfortable in that round, and it seemed obvious that he wasn’t going to be able to go much longer.
“I didn’t make it to the end, but I tried my best,” said Khan.
Khan tried his best but the weight that he put on during training camp was too much for his body to carry around for more than four rounds.