By Miguel Rivera
Eddy Reynoso, manager and co-trainer of WBC middleweight champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, says their upcoming opponent, former junior welterweight champion Amir Khan, is far from an easy fight.
Canelo will defend his title against Khan on May 7th from the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Khan (31-3, 19KOs), who competes at welterweight, is moving up by eight pounds to catch-weight of 155-pounds.
Not everyone shares the opinion of Reynoso. Some critics see the fight as a physical mismatch. Canelo's countryman Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. took to the social networks to lash out at Canelo over the matchup.
"We are not expecting an easy fight. We know that Khan is a skilled fighter who has the capabilities to make things difficult. He's fast, he's smart, has good experience and people know what he is capable of. Among the opponents who were available, a fight with Khan sounded appealing and so we took it. This is a sport and it is also a business," Reynoso told ESPN Deportes.
"There will always be critics, but what they can not dispute is that Canelo faced Austin Trout when he was at his best, Floyd Mayweather in his prime, Miguel Cotto in his prime, Erislandy Lara in his prime.... few fighters can boast to have faced so many champions as Canelo did [at his age]."
"We expect a difficult fight in the early rounds. Khan's mobility can be very dangerous but we are confident that Canelo will not only have the ability to match the skill, but he can adjust quickly to get the win. We know that Khan wants to fight like Mayweather but [we're ready for that]."
