Is Amir Khan too brave for his own good?

Earlier this month the boxing world was stunned. Twitter was a frenzy of activity as the news spread that former two-time world champion Amir Khan would be facing Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez on May 7th in Las Vegas for the middleweight championship of the world. Boxing hasn’t been caught off guard in such fashion for some time; matches of this magnitude are practically impossible to conceal these days.

Perhaps most surprised of all was the fellow welterweight and current IBF world champion Kell Brook. Brook has been extremely vocal about his desire to face Khan in what would be a massive domestic showdown.

Through taking a challenge of this size Amir Khan dons two fingers to the naysayers and guarantees himself a huge payday. I perceive it to be a smart move from Khan too. The best case scenario results in a victory over one of the biggest names in boxing. Should the fight not go Khan’s way but remains competitive then he still walks away a lot richer, having gone up in weight to face one of boxing’s best.

No doubt the door to a lucrative fight with Kell Brook would still remain open. The only way Khan will majorly suffer from taking this fight is if the fight turns out to be hugely one-sided in Canelo’s favour- something I don’t see happening. Khan brings speed, boxing intelligence, movement and should have just enough pop in his punches to keep the naturally stronger Alvarez honest.

Khan winning would certainly qualify as an upset; however boxing history is not short of an upset or two. Hasim Rahman’s knockout of Lennox Lewis. George Foreman’s victory over

The other factor that could play a crucial role is how much power Khan carries at middleweight. He won’t be fighting as the usual middleweight limit of 160 pounds for his fight in May, instead opting for Canelo’s familiar 155-pound catchweight. But Khan will clearly be the lighter fighter on the night. Canelo usually enters the ring at over 170 pounds. He’s now a fully fledged 147 pounder but let’s not forget Khan started off as a lightweight. His height and reach could play a part in negating some of the physical edges in strength Canelo has. How much we’ll have to wait and see.

So do I think Khan will win? In short, no. In their 2013 showdown, Floyd Mayweather showed the blueprint to beat Alvarez. Mayweather put on a master class. But Khan is no Mayweather. Khan has the tools to give any elite fighter trouble. There’s no doubt in my mind he has the potential to win this fight. But I don’t think he will.

I think Alvarez will slow him down with shots to the body and catch up with him eventually. The outcome depends a lot on which Amir Khan turns up. If it’s the Khan who we saw struggle against Chris Algieri, then he’s in a world of trouble. If it the Amir Khan that controlled the pace and dominated Devon Alexander, then he has a good chance.

It’s a very tough ask though not an impossible one.

Published on behindthegloves.com