By Steve Kim

Freddie Roach has an intimate knowledge of both Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and Amir Khan, who are scheduled to square off on May 7th in Las Vegas. Roach was in the opposite corner of Alvarez on November 21st as Miguel Cotto dropped a 12-round decision to Alvarez for the WBC middleweight title. Khan was trained a few years by the noted trainer.

He says of his former pupil,"He's a very, very athletic person but I think he might be a little too small."

Roach has a point given that Khan is a welterweight and Canelo basically comes in at light heavyweight on fight nights. In the past Khan has yearned for match-ups with the likes of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao only to be bypassed. Now he has finally landed his big fight. But the question is: is this the right one for him given the percieved disadvantage in size and strength?

"Well, he was offered Kell Brook and Kell Brook would be a great win but I don't think Kell Brook's quite as good as this opponent,"said the respected trainer, of the defending IBF welterweight titlist.

"Kell Brook's a good opponent but he's not as good as the opponent that he picked. I think he would've been better off fighting Kell Brook, he'd be a bigger star in his home country and so forth. He wins this one, this will put him on the map world-wide."

What's troubling is that Khan has been stopped at lower weights by the likes of Breidis Prescott and Danny Garcia in the past. This will be a match-up of Khan's athleticism and foot-speed versus the size of 'Canelo'.

Can Khan hold off and out-box Alvarez for 12 rounds?

'It'll be difficult for 36 minutes because Khan still has the tendency to stay in the pocket too long,"said Roach, who believes it came from Khan's penchant of wanting to pile up points in the amateurs and score mercy stoppages.

"He stopped a lot of fighters in the amateurs and so that's why I think he stays in the pocket so long, at times.

"When I was working with him we worked on getting out of the pocket quicker, throwing combinations and getting out. He does have foot speed and he is a good athlete but to do it for 36 minutes? It will be very, very difficult because this guy is strong."

So to use a baseball analogy; basically he has to throw a no-hitter?

"He's got to pitch a perfect game."

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.