Yes, this is rather tasty boxing news for your ear holes on a Thursday morning, isn’t it? Amir Khan, after countless months of chasing Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao (and threatening to fight Kell Brook), will be facing none other than Canelo Alvarez on May 7th. Golden Boy Promotions made the overwhelming news official earlier this morning, with HBO PPV to televise the Canelo vs Khan card.
Just to repeat that in case it hasn’t sunk in yet: Khan, who is yet to face a threatening Welterweight challenger, will be fighting Mexico’s rock solid boxer-puncher Canelo Alvarez. Yup.
To get your blood seriously pumping, check out GBP’s official teaser below:
And if you thinking the fight will be held at ‘Canelo Weight’, you’d be correct (because 155-pounds is soon to become boxing’s eighteenth weight division, right?). Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena will be the venue, with Canelo’s WBC Middleweight title on the line. This will be the Mexican star’s first defense since outpointing a mature Miguel Cotto back in November.
So, what’s to make of the Canelo vs Khan announcement, a fight which has emerged totally out of the blue, without even a single whispered rumour beforehand? I don’t want to start getting deep with predictions and analysis right now since it’s very early days, but I do have to give Khan props for taking on such a behemoth like Canelo. This is a very dangerous encounter for Khan, especially given Canelo has been known to enter the ring close to 170 pounds. I’ll say no more.
Do we all need a quick recap of what both fighters have been up to in their past three ring outings? You’re getting it anyway.
Canelo (46-1-1, 32 KO) won a close decision to Cuban technician Erislandy Lara in 2014, destroyed all-action banger James Kirkland last May, and conquered celebrated Puerto Rican favorite Miguel Cotto in November. Meanwhile, the dithering Khan (31-3, 19 KO) bagged three predictable victories at Welterweight, taking apart veteran Luis Collazo and outclassing a fading Devon Alexander in 2014, and beating an iron-willed yet limited Chris Algieri last May.
Stay tuned for more on Canelo vs Khan as it happens, folks, and give us your immediate reaction below in the comments. Are you shocked at the announcement? And how do you see the action playing out in May?
