By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Chris Algieri has a more informed opinion about the Canelo Alvarez-Amir Khan fight than most because he fought Khan and sparred against Alvarez.
The former WBO junior welterweight champion respects Khan’s ambition, but he doesn’t expect the ex-140-pound title-holder to pull off a huge upset against Alvarez on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT; HBO Pay-Per-View; $69.99 in HD). Mexico’s Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs), who’ll defend the WBC middleweight title for the first time, is a 5-1 favorite over England’s Khan (31-3, 19 KOs).
“He’s got big balls,” Algieri said of Khan, who beat Algieri by unanimous decision in a 12-round fight last May 29 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. “I tip my hat to him. Team Khan, they’re not dumb, either. There’s a reason they’re taking the fight – whether they see something in Canelo’s style, or if it’s just a movement and they’re co-branding and moving him forward in the future. Who knows? But like I said, they’re not stupid. They’re doing this for a reason.
“But I believe stylistically and matchup-wise and boxing-wise, it’s a very, very difficult task. Not only is Canelo a much larger guy, he’s good. He’s really good. It’s not just jumping up and fighting a guy who’s bigger. He’s a guy who stylistically is very difficult to deal with. He’s a good counter-puncher, he’s a sharp puncher, he’s got good hand position and defense, he’s a good counter-combination puncher. And Khan, when he fought me, it was my first fight at welterweight and he couldn’t keep me off him. But at least he was able to tie me up. He’s not gonna be able to tie Canelo up.”
Algieri (21-3, 8 KOs) isn’t anticipating the blowout many have predicted, though. He expects Khan to be stronger and more durable during a fight that’ll be contested at a catch weight of 155 pounds.
“I’m not sure what he’s doing in terms of strength and conditioning or even his diet protocol or whatever,” Algieri said. “It seems like he’s trying to eat up to the weight class and get bigger, which I don’t think is a good idea. I think for him to stay light, fast and comfortable is really important. Like I said, maybe he is more comfortable here. I don’t know. He was stronger at welterweight than he was at junior welterweight, which we did see.
“He never got hurt, other than [by] me, at welterweight. Never got buzzed, other than the fight I was in [with him]. Never got dropped. At 140 and 135, he was considered chinny, which I don’t. I don’t think Khan is a chinny guy. I just think that he’s so offensive sometimes he gets clipped with hard shots, clean shots I should say. So maybe he will be stronger and a little more durable at the weight. But even then, I still think it’s a very, very difficult task to fight a young, hungry guy like Canelo.
“There are spots where Khan is gonna be able to out-box him. I just don’t know if he’s gonna be able to keep it up. But again, anything’s possible. Khan does have speed. Khan does have good boxing skills. And he’s very good at staying calm and aware of what’s going on during a fight.”
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
