Photo by Esther Lin
This Saturday night, Former Light Welterweight ruler Amir ‘King’ Khan will be praying that Christmas comes early at the MGM Grand when he squares off against former Welterweight champion Devon Alexander.
A dominant win for Khan, against the seemingly deteriorating American, should most likely set in motion the fight deemed the Holy Grail of boxing, a mega money showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The Bolton Welterweight has been mentioned for quite some time as the frontrunner for the Mayweather sweepstakes; but with a still dangerous Alexander aiming to hijack this priceless opportunity, many wonder, will King Khan falter at the last hurdle, leaving the door ajar for the desperate Alexander?
The last time we saw Amir Khan in a ring was on the stacked Mayweather versus Marcos Maidana bill back in May, where Khan challenged a reinvigorated Luis Collazo, who himself had just obliterated young gun Victor Ortiz in two devastating rounds.
That night, many critics (myself included) predicted the 28 year old would not resist the urge to have a toe-to-toe battle with the seasoned Collazo, thus resulting in another knockout loss for Khan, ending his dream of a much talked about Mayweather tussle.
However, Khan looked phenomenal, using his superior hand speed along with his intelligent movement to great effect, picking Collazo off at will. Khan stormed to a lopsided point’s victory making Collazo look very ordinary, dropping his rugged opponent four times en route to the win, not once regressing back to his old ways.
Therefore, does Alexander stand a chance against a new look Khan, who is determined to make that dream fight a reality?
Devon Alexander “The Great” is seen as marmite to most of the boxing world, some love him, while others hate him. The American’s unpleasant style is definitely hit and miss with the fans, leaving many unconvinced about the capabilities of the former Welterweight champion.
Alexander’s last two outings were very unconvincing indeed, after a devastating loss to Shawn Porter in December of last year, the St. Louis fighter took on Jesus Soto Karass to restake his claim as a top level fighter. Despite his intentions, Alexander’s performance was far from perfect, even though he won on points, he failed to produce against a fading Soto Karass, putting his future at the elite level in doubt.
Will Alexander have what it takes to hijack the biggest reward in boxing or are his best days already behind him?
It is clear that under the tutelage of renowned trainer Virgil Hunter, Amir Khan has reinvented himself as an intelligent thinking fighter, less likely to revert back to his old gunslinger habits, where a tear up was undoubtedly guaranteed.
Therefore, a win on Saturday night against Alexander should be a certainty for a fighter of Khan’s caliber, finally setting up the long awaited battle he has been craving.
There is always an element of doubt though which creeps in when Khan laces up the gloves, which begs the question, can he take Alexander’s punch? To most, a Khan victory this weekend is a mere formality, but with his unpredictable (pre-Hunter era) track record, can a Khan victory ever be a mere formality?
