By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Abel Sanchez isn’t necessarily convinced Amir Khan can beat Canelo Alvarez.
Gennady Golovkin’s trainer just doesn’t view their May 7 fight in Las Vegas as the mismatch many consider it.
“I don’t think it’s a bad fight,” Sanchez said Thursday before a press conference to promote Golovkin’s April 23 fight against Dominic Wade. “If you recall, 28, 29 years ago Roberto Duran moved up 12 pounds [from lightweight to welterweight] and fought Ray Leonard, and beat him in their first fight. And then moved up another 13, and fought Hagler at 160. I think the weight that he’s coming up [to], maybe it’ll help his chin. Maybe he’s killing himself to make the weight. I don’t know. And he’s not gonna lose his hand speed, he’s not gonna lose his foot speed. Canelo’s gonna come in 25 pounds heavier. He’s gonna be a little slower. So it may be an interesting fight.”
Mexico’s Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs), who’ll defend the WBC middleweight title, is about a 4-1 favorite over England’s Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) in their HBO Pay-Per-View main event at the new T-Mobile Arena. The WBC has mandated that the Alvarez-Khan winner must face the Golovkin-Wade winner in his following fight.
“Khan has a chance,” Sanchez said. “I’m not a betting man. I wouldn’t bet on it. But I believe he has a chance.”
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.
