Squared Circle: Viewer's Guide to Canelo vs. Khan
Squared Circle: Viewer's Guide to Canelo vs. Khan
On Saturday Canelo Alvarez and Amir Khan square off for the linear middleweight title. It's the inaugural bout in Las Vegas' new mega-arena and should be a
On Saturday Canelo Alvarez and Amir Khan square off for the linear middleweight title. It's the inaugural bout in Las Vegas' new mega-arena and should be a very interesting tactical fight. It's the best fight of the weekend—but far from the only one.
There is a ton of boxing on television every week. Too much for any sane person to keep track of if we're being honest. That's where FLO Boxing comes in. This running feature is designed to tell you which fights matter and which don't—and who will win each main event and why. Do you love boxing, but have no idea what to watch? This feature is for you!
Network: Estrella TV & www.ringtvlive.com/
Promoter: Golden Boy Promotions
Undercard: Marvin Quintero (28-6 vs. Petr Petrov (36-4-2)
Interest Level: Medium
A couple weeks back, Golden Boy Promotions put on an early fight of the year contenders with Soto-Karass/Kamegai. It was a fight obviously built for excitement, the kind of no brainer boxing matchmakers so often fail to book. But there's something in the water over at Golden Boy—because they've done it again.
The main event is a classic cracker between two guys trying to stay relevant. Pablo Cesar Cano remains a mystery. He's faced real names and had close calls (Malignaggi), wars (Erik Morales), and clear defeats (Shane Mosley). He had a suspension as a result of a drug positive in 2015 that took him out of action, but returned to lump up Silverio Ortiz.
Alan Sanchez, meanwhile, may not have the same quality of names on his resume, but that doesn't make him a less than worthy opponent. His loss to Collazo was artificially wide on the cards (highly competitive), and he backed that up with wins over Ed Paredes, John Karl Sosa, and Jorge Silva. This is an even fight, and both guys will probably come to bop.
Main Event Prediction: Alan Sanchez by Split Decision
Network: AWE
Promoter: Matchroom Boxing
Undercard: Kubrat Pulev vs. Dereck Chisora, Paul Smith (35-6) vs. Daniel Regi (28-13), Martin Murray (32-3-1) vs. Cedric Spera (12-4)
Interest Level: Medium
Crolla nearly lost everything after being brutally assaulted by burglars, but came back and managed to win himself a world title. Now, let’s be honest here—lightweight is a crummy division, arguably the worst of the classic legacy divisions of yesteryear. Still, a title is a title—and Crolla has one.
Barroso was a total mystery coming into his fight with Kevin Mitchell, who he brutally dispatched in just 5 rounds last year on the Anthony Joshua/Dillan Whyte undercard. Could he do the same to Crolla? Very possibly. It's a real roll of the dice here in terms of picking a winner. I'm going with Crolla, but this is a dangerous fight to bet.
Two heavyweights on the cusp of contention duke it out on the undercard. Kubrat Pulev got styled on heavily by Wladimir Klitschko in 2014 and became the symbol of Klitschko’s less than stellar opposition. Dereck Chisora has twice shown up to fight Tyson Fury, but didn't seem to give much effort either time. He, however, looked like a different man in with the likes of Robert Helenius, Vitali Klitschko, and Malik Scott.
This is interesting in the same way that every Chisora fight is interesting—he can fight, but will hee bother to make an appearance? If he does, Pulev could wind up in dire straits. If he does not, this could be entirely one sided and dull.
Main Event Prediction: Anthony Crolla by Unanimous Decision
Network: HBO PPV
Promoter: Golden Boy Promotions/Canelo Promotions/Haymon Boxing/Top Rank
Undercard: David Lemieux (34-3) vs. Glen Tapia (23-2), Patrick Teixeria (26-0) vs. Curtis Stevens (27-5), Frankie Gomez (20-0) vs. Mauricio Herrera (22-5)
Interest Level: High
The main event will likely come down to a question of chins. If Amir Khan's can withstand Canelo's punching power, we may be en route to one of the biggest upsets in some time. There’s a clear path to victory for Khan: he has to stick and move, landing in combination and getting out and away from Canelo before fire is returned. If he manages to do that effectively, he can certainly win.
Canelo, should this happen, will be a willing participant in his own destruction. He almost always sits back and boxes everyone he fights. He’s not particularly comfortable moving forwards and most of his firefights come as a result of opponents chasing him.
The challenge for Khan? He gets hit by people counter punching him way too regularly. It has caused him to be stopped twice, by fighters who don't hit nearly as hard as Canelo. The Mexican star will probably land a big counter shot at some point in the fight. If you bet on Khan, you bet on Khan being perfect. Those odds are low.
On the undercard, David Lemieux is almost certain to run over Glen Tapia and Patrick Teixeria will test his mettle for the first time against Curtis Stevens. The third undercard fight offers a very interesting prospect (Gomez) vs. exceedingly difficult contender (Herrera). It's the type of fight that is a huge challenge to pick. Is it a great undercard? Nah. But it won't likely be boring.
Main Event Prediction: Canelo Alvarez by 9th Round KO
Network: Bounce
Promoter: King’s Promotions/Haymon Boxing
Undercard: Miguel Cruz (10-0) vs. Samuel Figueroa (12-0), Dennis Galarza (12-1) vs. Yardley Suarez (15-3)
Interest Level: Low
PBC card on a network no one gets? Only for the hardest of hardcores. Kanat Islam has barely fought anyone I’ve heard of. De Angel has and he got whupped. He might be a nice guy, but he’s probably in way over his head. The undercard fight between Cruz and Figuera is probably the better fight, I'll be in no rush to watch.You shouldn't be either.
Main Event Prediction: Kanat Islam by 2nd Round KO
There is a ton of boxing on television every week. Too much for any sane person to keep track of if we're being honest. That's where FLO Boxing comes in. This running feature is designed to tell you which fights matter and which don't—and who will win each main event and why. Do you love boxing, but have no idea what to watch? This feature is for you!
Pablo Cesar Cano (29-4-1, 21 KOs) vs. Alan Sanchez (17-3-1, 9 KOs)
Date: May 6thNetwork: Estrella TV & www.ringtvlive.com/
Promoter: Golden Boy Promotions
Undercard: Marvin Quintero (28-6 vs. Petr Petrov (36-4-2)
Interest Level: Medium
A couple weeks back, Golden Boy Promotions put on an early fight of the year contenders with Soto-Karass/Kamegai. It was a fight obviously built for excitement, the kind of no brainer boxing matchmakers so often fail to book. But there's something in the water over at Golden Boy—because they've done it again.
The main event is a classic cracker between two guys trying to stay relevant. Pablo Cesar Cano remains a mystery. He's faced real names and had close calls (Malignaggi), wars (Erik Morales), and clear defeats (Shane Mosley). He had a suspension as a result of a drug positive in 2015 that took him out of action, but returned to lump up Silverio Ortiz.
Alan Sanchez, meanwhile, may not have the same quality of names on his resume, but that doesn't make him a less than worthy opponent. His loss to Collazo was artificially wide on the cards (highly competitive), and he backed that up with wins over Ed Paredes, John Karl Sosa, and Jorge Silva. This is an even fight, and both guys will probably come to bop.
Main Event Prediction: Alan Sanchez by Split Decision
Anthony Crolla (30-4-3, 12 KOs) vs. Ismael Barroso (19-0-2, 18 KOs)
Date: May 7thNetwork: AWE
Promoter: Matchroom Boxing
Undercard: Kubrat Pulev vs. Dereck Chisora, Paul Smith (35-6) vs. Daniel Regi (28-13), Martin Murray (32-3-1) vs. Cedric Spera (12-4)
Interest Level: Medium
Crolla nearly lost everything after being brutally assaulted by burglars, but came back and managed to win himself a world title. Now, let’s be honest here—lightweight is a crummy division, arguably the worst of the classic legacy divisions of yesteryear. Still, a title is a title—and Crolla has one.
Barroso was a total mystery coming into his fight with Kevin Mitchell, who he brutally dispatched in just 5 rounds last year on the Anthony Joshua/Dillan Whyte undercard. Could he do the same to Crolla? Very possibly. It's a real roll of the dice here in terms of picking a winner. I'm going with Crolla, but this is a dangerous fight to bet.
Two heavyweights on the cusp of contention duke it out on the undercard. Kubrat Pulev got styled on heavily by Wladimir Klitschko in 2014 and became the symbol of Klitschko’s less than stellar opposition. Dereck Chisora has twice shown up to fight Tyson Fury, but didn't seem to give much effort either time. He, however, looked like a different man in with the likes of Robert Helenius, Vitali Klitschko, and Malik Scott.
This is interesting in the same way that every Chisora fight is interesting—he can fight, but will hee bother to make an appearance? If he does, Pulev could wind up in dire straits. If he does not, this could be entirely one sided and dull.
Main Event Prediction: Anthony Crolla by Unanimous Decision
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) vs. Amir Khan (31-3, 19 KOs)
Date: May 7thNetwork: HBO PPV
Promoter: Golden Boy Promotions/Canelo Promotions/Haymon Boxing/Top Rank
Undercard: David Lemieux (34-3) vs. Glen Tapia (23-2), Patrick Teixeria (26-0) vs. Curtis Stevens (27-5), Frankie Gomez (20-0) vs. Mauricio Herrera (22-5)
Interest Level: High
The main event will likely come down to a question of chins. If Amir Khan's can withstand Canelo's punching power, we may be en route to one of the biggest upsets in some time. There’s a clear path to victory for Khan: he has to stick and move, landing in combination and getting out and away from Canelo before fire is returned. If he manages to do that effectively, he can certainly win.
Canelo, should this happen, will be a willing participant in his own destruction. He almost always sits back and boxes everyone he fights. He’s not particularly comfortable moving forwards and most of his firefights come as a result of opponents chasing him.
The challenge for Khan? He gets hit by people counter punching him way too regularly. It has caused him to be stopped twice, by fighters who don't hit nearly as hard as Canelo. The Mexican star will probably land a big counter shot at some point in the fight. If you bet on Khan, you bet on Khan being perfect. Those odds are low.
On the undercard, David Lemieux is almost certain to run over Glen Tapia and Patrick Teixeria will test his mettle for the first time against Curtis Stevens. The third undercard fight offers a very interesting prospect (Gomez) vs. exceedingly difficult contender (Herrera). It's the type of fight that is a huge challenge to pick. Is it a great undercard? Nah. But it won't likely be boring.
Main Event Prediction: Canelo Alvarez by 9th Round KO
Kanat Islam (20-0, 17 KOs) vs. Juan De Angel (18-3-1, 17 KOs)
Date: May 8thNetwork: Bounce
Promoter: King’s Promotions/Haymon Boxing
Undercard: Miguel Cruz (10-0) vs. Samuel Figueroa (12-0), Dennis Galarza (12-1) vs. Yardley Suarez (15-3)
Interest Level: Low
PBC card on a network no one gets? Only for the hardest of hardcores. Kanat Islam has barely fought anyone I’ve heard of. De Angel has and he got whupped. He might be a nice guy, but he’s probably in way over his head. The undercard fight between Cruz and Figuera is probably the better fight, I'll be in no rush to watch.You shouldn't be either.
Main Event Prediction: Kanat Islam by 2nd Round KO