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Five things we learned from Canelo-Khan
- Updated: May 9, 2016
11:55 AM ET
LAS VEGAS — Canelo Alvarez made the first defense of his middleweight championship with a one-punch knockout of Amir Khan in the sixth round on Saturday night.
Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs) now has 15 days to decide whether he will face unified titlist Gennady Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs), the No. 1 contender to his WBC title, or be stripped of his belt.
Here are five things we learned from a wild night at the brand-new T-Mobile Arena.
1. Alvarez is as ready for GGG as he’ll ever be
Alvarez will be the first to tell you he’s not a middleweight despite, you know, being the 160-pound champion of the world. But after five straight fights at his preferred catchweight of 155 pounds, it’s time for him to make the full leap to 160. No more games.
Alvarez has done well to showcase his maturation into a calculated, dangerous counterpuncher. He showed poise against Khan’s hand speed and has vastly improved as a body puncher. He might not be the destroyer his gruesome knockouts of Khan (a blown-up welterweight) and James Kirkland (an equally overaggressive junior middleweight) might suggest, but he has enough pop to handle himself at the higher weight.
Would Alvarez be considered the underdog against Golovkin if they fought later this year? Without question. But closing in on the 50th fight of his career despite being just 25, Alvarez is at the peak of his powers. He’s either going to defeat GGG or he won’t, but choosing to further delay the biggest fight boxing can make in 2016 would be a disservice to the sport.
Golovkin, and boxing fans in general, have waited long enough.
2. A defiant, nasty Canelo is a fun Canelo
Despite his matinee-idol looks, marketable red locks and “strong, silent type” vibe, Alvarez as a personality has been pretty boring.
With apologies to his lone English catchphrase, “I was born ready,” the Mexican star doesn’t really say much or offer any emotion. So witnessing his quasi-heel turn Saturday, when he motioned for Golovkin, who was sitting ringside, to enter the ring, was refreshing.
Alvarez broke character by saying, “We don’t f— around,” and that he’s not scared of anyone. He went on to call out the segment of hard-core …
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