Boxing: Amir Khan Faces Weighty Proposition

There’s a likelihood that Amir Khan won’t last past the sixth round when he faces Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on HBO pay-per-view on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. There’s an even greater chance his career may make a sizable detour if things go the way they’re to go.

Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) does deserve credit for this: He’s willing to step into the ring with WBC middleweight champ, though the fight is at a catchweight of 155 pounds, which both fighters made at Friday’s weigh-in; and Khan does have one advantage over Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs), and that’s speed. Each time Alvarez has struggled in a fight, it has been against guys with fast hands. In his one loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr., “Canelo” simply couldn’t keep up with the hand speed or nimble feet. Against Erislandy Lara, who lost by split decision to Alvarez on July 12, 2014, “Canelo” couldn’t get off the number of punches per round that he’s used to throwing.

“It’s why I say this will be a very good fight,” said Oscar de la Hoya, the lead promoter of the bout. “Think about it, the rare times ‘Canelo’ has had trouble it’s been against guys who win with speed, have fast hands and can move. That’s Khan. His hand speed could trouble ‘Canelo,’ but we have a chance to see a different side of ‘Canelo’ for this fight. You have to know how to outsmart Khan, how to rely on your brain to win. You can’t rely on your punching power anymore, or your size. He may have to use a more tactical approach.”

Speed is the key, Bernard Hopkins concurred.

“I do give Khan a lot of credit for taking this fight,” Hopkins said. “I know what a lot of people think, that Khan has no chance because of the size difference; but Khan does have good boxing skills. I just think his biggest problem is himself. Can he stick to a game plan and try to outbox ‘Canelo’ over 12 rounds? I think he’s capable of doing that, but I have my doubts. I have an idea what [trainer] Virgil [Hunter] is trying to teach him, but Khan has a tendency to stay in the pocket when he shouldn’t. His feet aren’t as fast as his hands. I wouldn’t dispute the fact that he’s a warrior. He’s not afraid to get busy. That could be his downfall. He’ll try boxing, try staying away and tapping ‘Canelo’ from the outside, but eventually, he’ll get hit with something and resort back to his old ways. I can see it happening.”

Khan can’t. The jump from welterweight to middleweight, granted a smallish middleweight, hasn’t deterred his hand speed.

“The speed is still there. I thought it was going to decrease a little [with the weight gain], but it’s still there,” Khan said. “I do think I’m a sharper puncher and my power has improved. I do think I can outbox him over 12 rounds. I really believe [Alvarez] is going to have big problems going into late [rounds], especially with my speed. Like I’ve been saying, with the speed and with the new power after adding some pounds, I’ll hit him with quick shots and he is going to be hurt by them.”

Khan knows he may be giving away 10 pounds and possibly as much as 12 once Alvarez rehydrates.

“I know that I am fighting someone who has power and is bigger than me,” Khan said. “He’ll be able to take my power. I can only beat him by using my speed and skill. It could go 12 [rounds]. I think it probably will, but it’s all about staying one step ahead of him, catching him with some good shots, making him fall short and using my speed to frustrate him.”

Joseph Santoliquito is the president of the Boxing Writer's Association of America and a frequent contributor to Sherdog.com's mixed martial arts and boxing coverage. His archive can be found here.