De La Hoya: Canelo Will Need Perfect Fight To Beat Amir Khan

Golden Boy Promotions chief Oscar De La Hoya is “expecting a huge turnout” for May 7’s showdown at the newly opened T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas when Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (46-1-1, 32KOs) defends his WBC World Middleweight Title against Amir Khan (31-3, 19KOs).

De La Hoya predicts the event will be twice as big as last year's HBO Pay-Per-View bout  between Canelo and Miguel Cotto, which generated over 900,000 PPV purchases last November at the MGM Grand.

“It’s a blockbuster event, our indications are telling us it’ll be twice as big as Canelo v Cotto,” De La Hoya said.

The challenger Khan has bravely moved up in weight by eight pounds, to a catch-weight of 155, to take on the 25 year old Mexican sensation and is looking in fine condition ahead of fight night.

“Amir is looking really good, it doesn’t surprise me. He’s a hard worker, he’s a trooper. He gets down and gets back up! When has he been in a boring fight? Never!” revealed the promoter.

Breaking down the fight, De La Hoya believes the speed of Khan will play a huge part in the outcome.

“I think the first guy to make a mistake will pay for it. Floyd Mayweather Sr. once told me the way you beat speed is the timing. He’s right, it’s the only way you can do it. Canelo has to fight a perfect fight.”

Khan was last in action in May of 2015, when he won at twelve round unanimous decision over Chris Algieri.

Watch Amir Khan’s WBC World Middleweight Title challenge against Canelo Alvarez, exclusively live in the U.K on BoxNation!