By Edward Chaykovsky
Amir Khan has found an unexpected supporter in WBA junior welterweight champion Adrien "The Problem" Broner, who is picking Amir "King" Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) to beat WBC middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs).
The fight takes place on May 7 on HBO pay-per-view from the T-Mobile Arena, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Once the fight was announced, most fans ran to social media to express their opinions on how Khan may be biting off a little more than he can chew.
Broner went to social media in defense of his Haymon Boxing stablemate and picked Khan to pull off the upset.
"Amir Khan will be victorious in this fight," Broner told his followers.
Khan and Broner were mentioned as potential opponents on more than one occasion. There were serious discussions to make the fight at one point, but it never came together. Khan claims Broner was requesting a catch-weight that would have been impossible for him to make and refused to fight at the full welterweight limit of 147-pounds.
The fight with Canelo will take place at a catch-weight of 155-pounds, where the Mexican superstar has held his last four bouts.
Khan has everything riding against him in the bout. Canelo is much bigger in size and rehdyrates to levels of 170-plus on fight night. Canelo has a very sturdy chin, while Khan has been down and knocked out at lightweight and junior welterweight. His chin has held up better since going to the full welterweight limit.
There is also the question of inactivity. Khan will enter the ring with a near a full year of being on the bench. Months were wasted while he pursued fights with Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. And in Khan's last fight, against former junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri, the British fighter had more trouble than most experts expected. Canelo will the enter the fight on back of his biggest career win, a twelve round decision over Miguel Cotto last November.
