Bolton-born Khan is going toe-to-toe with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Saturday in what will be the first major bout at the T-Mobile Arena, which is part of the MGM group.
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If the fight takes place at 158, it would be too close to 160 and it wouldn’t have enough of a weakening effect on Golovkin for Canelo to gain an advantage.
The brother of former world champion Ricky also fought Alvarez above his natural weight and could not believe the size of the Mexican, who piled on the pounds between the from the weigh-in and the fight.
Amir Khan has described how his Muslim faith fits into his intensive training regime in the build up to a fight.
The Briton said: “I really have to win it quite clearly”. He knew that along the way his time will come.
It would not be a mega-fight against one of boxing’s biggest names, a champion many see as the heir to the position of “face of the sport” once held by Mayweather and Pacquiao.
“I felt that an opportunity would present itself and that always kept me going and moving forward”. I don’t think Canelo and his promoter Oscar De La Hoya are going to be comfortable fighting Golovkin at a reasonable catch-weight like Hopkins is talking about. I thought, “Jesus Christ get me back in the changing rooms”.
“I know it’s going to be a tough fight”, Khan told The Telegraph.
“I watched what he was eating and I don’t think he’s had any problem putting on the weight, I think it’s for the better for him”.
“I’ll show a lot more than power, you’ll see”, the 25-year-old said. Also, if Khan beats Canelo, Ramadan does start early this year.
Timothy Bradley was guaranteed $4 million against Pacquiao last month, and while he made more because of PPV revenue, he probably didn’t make the $13 million that Khan will reportedly earn.
The 2004 Olympic silver medalist has been knocked out in fights at 135 and 140 pounds by Breidis Prescott and Danny Garcia, respectively. It was one of the best fights of the year and propelled Khan into the public eye, showing his pride, guts and skill against a typically courageous and powerful Maidana.
It’s no surprise that this fight has been billed as “Power vs Speed”, with Alvarez proving in his previous outings that he possesses knockout power, while Khan’s rapid hands remain his biggest weapon. It was Alvarez’s only defeat of his career, but he reportedly earned million for what was the highest-grossing boxing PPV of all time.
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“It’s a pleasure for me to stand by his side in the face of obvious danger from a great fighter”.
