Khan is a huge underdog coming into the fight as he had to jump two weight classes from 147 to fight at the middleweight limit of 160 pounds. The agreed catchweight for the fight is 155 pounds. Alvarez, whose only career loss was against unbeaten Floyd Mayweather is the reigning 160 pounds titlist.
Alvarez’s awesome punching power is just too much for Khan to take and his only chance to win is by dragging the fight to the last round while making sure that he outpoints Alvarez in at least seven rounds.
While a knockout win is an option for Khan as he is also a known power puncher, it would be risky for him to get closer to Alvarez because he could get caught in the skirmish.
To avoid Alvarez’s heavy punches, Khan needs to maintain a safe distance while quickly coming inside for his needed points. His timing should be precise and he should be able to come out quickly after hitting his target. Khan is known for his foot and hand speed and should be able to use this advantage over Alvarez.
Former super welterweight world champion Austin Trout, who suffered a unanimous decision loss to Alvarez in 2012 believes that Khan will pull off an upset if Alvarez fails to knockout Khan inside 12 rounds.
“Canelo is a hard puncher and was the first person to crack my chin and put me down. He is very strong but at the same time, I took a number of clean right hands before he eventually got me down. He is a very hard man to face though,” Trout told worldboxingnews.net.
Trout is set to face Jermall Charlo on May 21 in Houston, Texas for the IBF light welterweight title.
Trout believes that if the fight goes down the stretch, Khan is going to win on points.
“One thing I don’t see is Canelo outboxing Khan – that won’t happen. For that, if it goes to a decision, then Khan will get the victory and if it ends in a knockout then it will be a win for Canelo – that’s the only way he can win,” he added.
Khan is coming off five straight wins since losing to Danny Garcia via TKO in 2012 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 29-year-old native of Bolton, England is banking on his speed and skill to outpoint Alvarez saying he isn’t after a knockout win but is prepared to go 12 rounds and win on points.
Khan’s weapon against Alvarez is his speed and if he can score by quickly getting in and out of Alvarez’s perimeter, he may just outpoint Alvarez to earn a favorable decision from the judges.
