After the huge announcement yesterday by
Golden Boy Promotions on Twitter, Amir 'King' Khan will be fighting 'Canelo'
Alvarez for the WBC middleweight title on the 7th May at Las Vegas. It is safe
to say that only people on the inside saw this match up coming and it came as a
massive shock to boxing and casual fans alike.
The boxer from Bolton had been being
readily called out by Kell Brook and Eddie Hearn for not taking the biggest
fight available to him but now it seems he has out done them and will receive
the biggest payday of his career fighting, Mexican, Canelo.
There are many question marks over this fight, especially with Khan having only been adjusting himself to the 147 limit for around 18 months without fighting any genuine welterweights so to step up again is a high risk decision. But at the end of the day money talks and both Canelo and Khan are massive names in the boxing world.
Canelo is Golden Boy’s prize asset, at
the age of 15 he turned professional and since then has gone from strength to
strength by beating the likes of Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Erislandy Lara to
name a few. His only defeat came against the unbeatable and now retired Floyd
Mayweather back in 2013, in a fight which many would argue came a year or two
too soon for the Mexican.
The fight will be fought at a catch-weight
of 155 lb, which in my view is ridiculous considering they are fighting for the
lineal 160 lb title so it is making a
mockery of the divisions. This is a fight that many consider will be a stroll
in the park for Canelo, with the massive size advantage that he will have on
fight night and there are certainly question marks about whether Khan's chin can stand up to 147 lb fighter let alone Canelo.
However, this is a lot closer than
people expect, Canelo has never liked facing fighters who can box, with
Mayweather and Lara being his worst two performances to date. Khan is exactly
the same, he will not simply be a punching bag, his speed and timing will have
to be things that Canelo will have to get used to very quickly. However if he
does land one of those wild right hooks it will be lights out Khan.
This is a fantastic fight that will generate a lot of interest in both the US and the UK and I am delighted that Khan has been able to get himself in that mega-fight that he has so long deserved.
Tom Eckett
@boxingguru44
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