by Francisco Salazar

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Canelo Alvarez did what he was expected to do Saturday night: Knock out Amir Khan before the final bell sounded.

That did not mean Khan was not going to go out on his shield, forcing the popular Mexican fighter to expend more than he had to in order to finish Khan.

Alvarez scored an emphatic one-punch knockout win over Khan in the sixth round before a boisterous and partisan crowd of 16,540 at the new T-Mobile Arena.

Alvarez improves to 47-1-1, 33 KOs, while Khan drops to 31-4, 19 KOs.

Those who looked at Khan as a sacrificial lamb for Alvarez seemed to have egg on their face when Khan, who was fighting above the welterweight division for the first time in his career, came out outboxing Alvarez from the opening bell.

The contract weight for the Alvarez-Khan fight was 155 pounds.

The hand-speed was very apparent between the two fighters, as Khan seemed to befuddle Alvarez. As if the hand speed was not enough, Khan's footwork and lateral movement gave Alvarez trouble.

As the bout progressed, Alvarez began to walk Khan down. Alvarez continued to close the distance between him and Khan, allowing him to land right hands to the body in order to slow Khan down.

Khan hung in there tough, even showing his bravado by standing and trading with the harder-punching Alvarez.

"He is a fast fighter, and I knew things would be complicated in beginning," said Alvarez after the fight. "But I knew they would come to my favor as the fight went on."

The end came as the sixth round was concluding. As both fighters connected during a fairly even round, Alvarez threw and landed a right cross to the chin of Khan, dropping him flat onto his back.

Khan remained motionless on the canvas, prompting referee Kenny Bayless to stop the bout at 2:37.

"People have known me only for my power. I have many more qualities in the ring and I showed that. I think people saw more of me tonight. Someone that comes in to box gives you more trouble and someone that comes right in is a little easier to fight."

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With Khan now in the rear-view mirror, the focus was on Gennady Golovkin, who sat at ringside during the fight. Golovkin climbed into the ring, but did not come close to getting Alvarez.

Many fight fans have clamored for a fight between Alvarez and Golovkin for the last several months. Two weeks ago, Golovkin stated he wanted Alvarez to 'give him his belt."

Golovkin is the interim WBC titleholder, while Alvarez holds the WBC regular title. WBC president Jose Sulaiman stated he will enforce the mandate of Alvarez defending the title against Golovkin or he would strip Alvarez of the world title.

Alvarez says he is eager to fight Alvarez.

"I invited him to come to the ring. I don't fear anyone; we don't come to play in this sport. I fear no one in this sport. Right now I will put on the gloves again and fight him."

Oscar De La Hoya, who promotes Alvarez, has stated in a previous interview to Boxingscene.com that he will not 'over-marinate" the fight between Alvarez and Golovkin.

De La Hoya has made it a point that he wants to makes fights for the fans. The fallout of the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight turned off casual boxing fans, but a potential Alvarez-Golovkin fight could be enough to put boxing on a bigger stage.

Whether a fight between the two middleweights takes place this September or next May, De La Hoya would not be smart if a fight does not get made over the next 12 months.

Boxing fans had a fight that over-marinated in Mayweather-Pacquiao. For the sake of boxing fans, it is doubtful De La Hoya will allow that to happen.

Lemieux stops Tapia

Middleweight contender David Lemieux stopped Glen Tapia in the fourth round.

It was Lemieux's first fight since being stopped by Gennady Golovkin on October 17. He went on the attack from the opening bell against Tapia. Lemieux stunned Tapia with a left hook to the head in the opening round, but Tapia was able to make it out of the round.

Lemieux continued landing thudding shots to the head and body as Tapia seemed to back up at times.

Lemieux dropped Tapia with a left-right combination to the head about 45 seconds into the fourth round. Tapia was able to beat the count, but one of his cornermen walked up on the canvas and told referee Russell Mora to stop the fight. Tapia was upset with his corner as Mora waved the fight over at 56 seconds.

"This victory means the world to me,” said Lemieux after the fight. "I knew after the first round that I would knock him out. I’m ready to be among the best in the middleweight division and become a world champion again."

“He was getting hit too much," said trainer Freddie Roach in regards of Tapia. "He wasn’t doing what we planned to do and when I saw him go down, I knew what I had to do to protect my fighter."

Gomez decisions Herrera

Welterweight Frankie Gomez scored the most impressive win to date of his career, defeating Mauricio Herrera over 10 rounds.

Gomez, who improves to 21-0, 13 KOs, was too quick and too strong, out-hustling Herrera throughout most of the fight. Herrera was at his best when he was on the inside, but Gomez was effective at keeping him on the outside.

Herrera had to deal with a cut underneath his left eye from the second round, but he tried to walk Gomez down as the bout progressed. Gomez was able to mix his attack to the head and body as the bout reached its conclusion.

All three judges scored the bout 100-90 in favor of Gomez.

"It feels good to get this victory,” said Gomez after the fight. "I trained really hard and it paid off. I’m ready to take on my next challenge and take on the best at 140."

“It wasn’t my night,” said Herrera, who drops to 22-6, 7 KOs. "I never give up and my fans know that. I hope to be back in vegas soon because I’ll go anywhere for a fight.”

Stevens KOs Teixeira

Middleweight Curtis Stevens returned from a year and a half layoff from the boxing ring, stopping Patrick Teixeira in the second round.

Stevens improves to 28-5, 21 KOs, while Teixeira drops to 26-1, 22 KOs.

Stevens fought once in 2015, but in a Big Knockout Boxing (BKB) show, where he fought to a draw against Gabriel Rosado over seven rounds. Teixeira was taking a major step up in opposition and some wondered whether he would be able to withstand Steven's power.

After an even opening round, Stevens hit pay-dirt within the opening minute of the second round, dropping Teixeira with a right hand to the head. Teixeira stood up, but was in no condition to continue, prompting referee Tony Weeks to stop the bout at 1:04.

“The name of the game is to knock people out and that’s what I did tonight,” said Curtis Stevens. "I feel great to get back into the game after my one and a half year break. I really want Lemieux, but I will take whatever I can get. My head is right, and I’m ready to take on whoever."

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing