Caption: Canelo Alvarez, left, and Amir Khan, right, pose for a photo with promoter Oscar De La Hoya, center, in Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 2, 2016. The boxers are scheduled to fight on May 7 in Las Vegas for Alvarez’s WBC middleweight title. AP
For Amir Khan to defy the odds and beat Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach thinks his former ward has to have a “perfect fight.”
Khan is the heavy underdog in the title bout, making his task more difficult after agreeing to a 155-pound catchweight where Alvarez is comfortable at.
The British challenger has never fought heavier than the welterweight limit of 147.
And with that alone, Khan puts himself at a huge disadvantage against the caliber of a fighter like Alvarez, whose only loss was to Floyd Mayweather Jr. by majority decision three years ago.
Roach is also familiar with Alvarez after the WBC middleweight champion beat his fighter Miguel Cotto by unanimous decision in November of last year and he knows what the Mexican star is capable of doing inside the ring.
“Khan deserves some credit for taking this kind of fight. Let’s see how good he can be. The problem is that when Canelo connects, Khan is going to have a lot of problems,” Roach told ESPN Deportes.
“He has to make the perfect fight,” said Roach in the same interview. “If [Khan] stops to exchange he won’t be able to do anything. If he picks a bad strategy then at some point [in the fight] he’s going to pay. He has to make the perfect fight to even think of having a chance, but it’s not going to be easy. He has to be in great physical condition because he relies on his speed.”
Roach gives the speed advantage to Khan, but the seven-time trainer of the year isn’t sure if that would be enough for the former junior welterweight champion to win.
“He needs to be disciplined, stay away from trading. His speed will be key but I don’t know if it’s enough for the whole fight,” said Roach, whose partnership with Khan ended
Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) and Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) will slug it out on May 8 (Manila time) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.