Arum: Khan in Too Deep With Canelo, He Should've Picked Brook

By Edward Chaykovsky

Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum gives Amir Khan (31-3, 19KOs) little to no chance of beating the much bigger Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (46-1-1, 32KOs).

Khan, who fights at welterweight, will jump up by eight pounds to a catch-weight of 155 to challenge Canelo for the WBC middleweight crown.

The HBO Pay-Per-View fight takes place on May 7th from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Because of the size difference, Canelo's ability to rehydrate to over 170-pounds on fight night and Khan's questionable chin, Arum feels the fight is very uneven and says the upside is not worth the risk.

“If you’re being realistic, Khan doesn’t have much of a chance with Alvarez. If he gets knocked out, which I think might happen, there would be no way he would be a future opponent on a pay-per-view fight against Manny Pacquiao or any other elite fighter. I would not have gone ahead with this fight. I think it’s a bridge too far. The risk-reward is way out of line," Arum said to scribe Gareth Davies.

If Arum was making the moves, he would have selected a big domestic showdown with Khan's main rival, IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook. Earlier this year, there were serious discussions take place for a Khan-Brook showdown for the summer, but then Khan unexpectedly selected Canelo. Arum would give Khan a very good shot to beat Brook.

“He would have made a lot of money on the Kell Brook fight and it’s a much more winnable fight. I always thought that’s what he should have done. It would have been a sensational fight and it would have done marvellously on pay per view. I would give Khan a pretty good chance against Kell Brook. But not against Canelo.”