Shah Khan: Amir Must Avoid Toe To Toe, Outbox Canelo

By Terence Dooley

Shah Khan has warned his son not to lose his head if he gets hit and hurt against Saul Alvarez on Saturday night.  Khan (31-3, 19 stoppages) meets Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) for the WBC and linear 160lb titles at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas; he will be the underdog for the first time in his career, but Shah believes that Khan can pull it off if he sticks to his boxing.

“Look at how well Amir boxed against [Andriy] Kotelnik, Paulie [Malignaggi], Zab Judah, Luis Collazo and Devon Alexander,” stated Shah when speaking to BoxingScene.

“We know that he likes to stand and fight—when he gets caught the when the red mist comes down—but he is at his best when he boxes and he will need to do that.”

He added: “Amir is exciting to watch, which is the reason the Americans like him, so he needs to follow the boxing game plan even if Alvarez tries to drag him toe-to-toe.  Exciting fights against [Rene Marcos] Maidana and [Lamont] Peterson raised his profile over there (the U.S.) and that’s why they keep bringing him back.  Now it’s time to show how mature his boxing has become in the biggest fight of his career.  Look at how well he boxed against Alexander in another big fight.”

The 29-year-old from Bolton is set to pocket a cool £9,000,000 for this fight yet he insists it is about legacy, not money; Shah told me that an all-British showdown with IBF welterweight titlist Kell Brook will still be on the table once the dust settles on Saturday’s fight.

“We were talking to Eddie Hearn and Matchroom,” he confirmed.  “Then this one (Alvarez) came up so we had to take it.  I know the British fans want to see him fight Brook, but we can come back to that one and we couldn’t turn down a fight like this one.  Brook will still be there for Amir.”

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