Referee Kenny Bayless waves off the count as Khan is out cold
In arguably the most anticipated fight of the year thus far. Amir Khan and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez duked it out, until the end came in the 6th round, well before the scheduled 12. This to most book makers, boxing experts and ourselves at skatronixxx came as no real surprise, and although the knockout was extremely devastating, the fight was meant to be as brutal a beating and as one sided as Chris Brown and Rihanna’s relationship. Yet the fight was intriguing and not as one sided as the devastating KO loss on Khan’s record would suggest.
Amir Khan’s heart has never really been a question. At 17, as an amateur, following his Olympic Silver medal in Athens 2004, he had many chances to sign as a pro with lucrative contracts to earn himself a ridiculous amount of money at that age, yet delayed these opportunities for another year to avenge his gold medal final defeat to Cuban Mario Kindelan, in arguably the most watched Amateur boxing contest ever in the UK. Also Khan has shown some incredible courage in great victories whilst being knocked down and badly hurt against the likes of Willie Limond, Michael Gomez and most notably Argentine Marcos Maidana in 2010’s fight of the year. Yet with 2 particularly brutal KO losses as a pro, to World Welterweight champion Danny Garcia, and a 54 second destruction from unknown Colombian Breidis Prescott, these defeats have earned Khan a fairly justified reputation as having a vulnerable chin.
Coming into this fight against Saul Alvarez, who’s record stood at 46-1-1 (his only loss coming to Floyd Mayweather Jr.) with 32 KO’s and coming off the back of an incredible performance against the unheralded 160lb Middleweight champion and future boxing Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto, and a sensational 3rd round KO of the dangerous James Kirkland, Alvarez had all the momentum. Khan had fought just once in the past year in a mediocre performance against Chris Algieri, who was spectacularly KO’d by Errol Spence just a few weeks back (as covered by Skatronixxx).
So the only real question was WHEN the KO would come for Alvarez, not IF. Yet from the opening bell, if you had not ever seen these two fight before, it would have been almost impossible to tell who the favourite was meant to be. Despite the year lay-off for Khan, the Brit started with electric speed. Canelo, who clearly had a size advantage as expected, looked particularly slow footed to start, which has been a problem of his in previous fights. Khan exploited this and within the first 30 seconds landed a crisp left right combo, which brought 2 of Canelo’s nieces in the front row of the audience to tears. It was a shock to everybody, and the thing that shocked most observers was the fact it seemed to move Canelo. Khan was meant to have a speed advantage, yes; but nobody anticipated Khan having the power to move or hurt Alvarez. The rest of the round Khan used his superior hand speed and took the 1st in very impressive fashion. 10-9 Khan.
The second again followed the exact same pattern, some extremely fast hands from Khan, and with 4-5 punch combinations, which landed on Canelo’s arms and gloves did enough to win the round, because Alvarez still was too slow to be in range to land any shots on Amir. 10-9 Khan.
Khan landing a stiff jab square on Alavarez’s chin
The 3rd round was a lot closer than the previous two. With Canelo moving slightly quicker and being closer to Khan, he was able to land a few shots. There were two significant moments in the round, both which strangely favoured Khan. I say strangely, because Canelo landed a clean left hook. This was great news for Khan for the fact it didn’t hurt him. Khan was meant to crumble as soon as Alvarez landed anything on his chin, yet his signature left hook didn’t move Khan. The second moment was with the last 10 seconds of the round, Khan landed a fast 2 punch combination on flush on Canelo’s face, popping the Mexican’s head back, giving a lasting memory of the round that Khan probably won it. So a close round but we gave it to Khan 10-9.
With Khan in the lead, Canelo’s corner looked nervous and were shouting conflicting instructions at the superstar. However this seemed to beam life into Alvarez, whose line of attack certainly changed in the 4th. With Alvarez focusing his attacks more on Khan’s body, this disrupted the Brit’s flow and rhythm. The scintillating speed wasn’t as troubling to Canelo who was able to time Khan’s attacks better and land big body shots. Giving him a foothold in the fight. And the first clear round of the fight. 10-9 Canelo.
The 5th followed an identical pattern to the preceding round. This pattern was startlingly identical to the Danny Garcia fight for Khan in 2012, where he was KO’d. However this Khan under trainer Virgil Hunter is a more defensive minded fighter, and a more intelligent fighter. Khan still tried to use his superior movement, but was trapped on the ropes a couple of times in the round. The combinations Khan threw were few and far between, and the brief interludes on the ropes where Canelo imposed his size and whacked Khan’s body, were more telling and the Brit was visibly slowing. 10-9 Canelo.
By the 6th the frantic pace Khan set out from the start with may have caught up with him. Canelo’s timing was a lot better, but mid-way through the round Khan showed his heart, yet again which has typified his career landing a crisp combination. Canelo imposing his will and Khan’s movement was seizing up. Then BANG, with a lazy, slow jab, Canelo countered perfectly with a blistering overhand right, ending the fight in emphatic fashion. On first impressions the KO looked devastating, thankfully Khan got up and after an overnight stay in hospital for precaution, he has emerged unscathed and in fine physical condition.
So what’s next?
For Canelo it’s simple. GGG – for those who don’t know, that’s Gennady Golovkin, the other 160 lb world champion, and the number 1 pound for pound puncher in the sport. This is the fight the fans want to see and the only thing that can stop this fight is a dispute between promoters. Both fighters seem eager to fight one another, so there’s no logical reason why they shouldn’t. Unlike Mayweather-Pacquiao, this Golovkin-Canelo fight, would be the perfect time for these two to fight, two of the greatest fighters in their division, in their prime. It could be a classic, for either the end of 2016, or Cinco de Mayo (Mexican Independence Day, May weekend) 2017. For the good of boxing, we all pray it does take place.
Canelo and Golovkin a potential 2017 dream match up
For Khan, it’s hard to gauge where his career will go. As his venture up to 155 ended in such cataclysmic fashion, I think the move back down to 147 is inevitable, trusting he can still make the weight. But the courage, boxing ability, and heart he showed in this fight, and the undeniable talent the man possesses means he will still be a very tough fight for any elite level 147 pounder. The only question that remains, as was before this fight will be, can he be elusive enough to avoid the big punches in any of his fights to become a 3 time world Champion? A ‘tune-up’ fight would be recommended after such a heavy loss, but he’s still a world class athlete and a potential rematch with Garcia, or a mega domestic showdown with IBF Welterweight Champion and fierce rival Kell Brook could still be on the cards for him in 2017. Has Khan’s bravery to fight the elite caught up with him? It’s hard to know if this is the case as he fought against the world’s best 160lb fighter, as his natural weight is 147, that statement will only be confirmed or debunked when we next see him in action. Whenever that will be, it’s safe to say it will be an entertaining fight nonetheless.
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