Although Amir Khan has his critics, who suggest the former 140-pound king is not the great talent he himself believes he is, no-one can deny how Khan has always sought the big fights (he was absolutely desperate to get a Floyd Mayweather Junior and/or a Manny Pacquiao into the ring). Nor can anyone say Khan is not involved in exciting fight after exciting fight. And, for a fighter some more vocal critics have called “chinny,” “overrated” and a fighter who has been “exposed at top level,” Khan has a pretty good record.
Beaten just three times as a pro – by Breidis Prescott in what may well have been a fluke, by Lamont Peterson in a most controversial points loss that Khan actually won in the opinion of many, and by Danny Garcia, a straight-out bad stoppage defeat, arguably the worst loss Khan has suffered – Khan’s big wins outnumber his losses. Wins over excellent fighters such as Marcos Maidana, Zab Judah, Andriy Kotelnik, Devon Alexander, Paulie Malignaggi and (an admittedly faded) Marco Antonio Barrera make up an impressive list. But Khan, in speaking to The Times, says a win over Canelo Alvarez – who he of course meets on May 7th, in what to many is the best and most intriguing fight of 2016 – will eclipse all his previous triumphs and make him a superstar.
Not only that, but Khan believes a win over Alvarez will wipe the slate clean as far as his three defeats go.
“I am going to win this fight and it will take me on to the next level and take away all the defeats I have had,” Khan said. “It will put me up there with the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Sometimes you have to beat a superstar to become a superstar. I need to beat Canelo. Beating Danny Garcia or Kell Brook won’t make me the superstar I want to be.”
Khan will become a big star, certainly the star of the year – and very possibly The Fighter of The Year – if he manages to upset the odds next month. And though the three losses would not go away with a win, chances are fans would be a whole lot less keen to bring them up when speaking about the new middleweight champion of the world. Khan will be in his own orbit if he beats Canelo; free to do whatever he wants. Who is going to be too tough on Khan if he doesn’t fight Gennady Golovkin, arguably the best middleweight on the planet?
Khan will have shocked enough odds with a win over Alvarez, enough for fans to give him a pass when it comes to having to fight a beast like GGG. Khan, who turned pro down at lightweight, will probably move back down in weight after the Alvarez fight, whether he wins or loses. He may not go all the way back to 147-pounds, instead opting to fight as a full-time 154-pounder. And if this is the case, and if he has beaten Canelo, the likes of Kell Brook and Danny Garcia might find they have to move up if they want to fight Khan.
Brook most probably would agree to move up (he’s spoken about going to 154 one day anyway) but would Garcia? Khan, if he can upset Canelo, would possibly surpass Garcia, who TKO’d him inside 4-rounds, in terms of star power. It is one big gamble Khan is taking in May, but the rewards will be enormous if he can pull it off.