T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, May 7
TV: HBO Pay-Per-View
By Peter Lim
Size will be the key determining factor in this bout. If Danny Garcia could get past Khan's speed and impose his will on him at 140, imagine what Alvarez, a bigger, slicker version of Garcia, can do to him at 155.
In their heydays, defensively flawed fighters like Mohammad Ali and Roy Jones Jr. got away with their imperfections thanks to their blinding speed and exceptional talent. Khan might be speedy, talented and defensively flawed but he lacks Ali's chin and Jones' reflexes to repeat their success.
Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) dominates the first couple of rounds with his fast hands but lacks the punching power to discourage Alvarez from pressing the action. Alvarez (46-1, 32 KOs) finds openings for sharp counters as he gradually begins to figure Khan out and rattles him each time he lands a clean shot. By the middle rounds, Alvarez's consistent body punches diminishes enough of Khan's movement for Alvarez to effortlessly close the distance and drop Khan several times en route to a sixth round TKO.
Afterthoughts:
Both guys were class acts in victory and defeat.
Canelo showed such poise in and out of the ring that he looked like a product of a bunch of evil genius scientists getting together one day to genetically engineer the quintessential complete fighter mentally and physically.
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