Canelo vs. Khan: Fight Time, Date, Livestream and TV Info

Win or lose on Saturday, Amir Khan (31-3, 19 KO) deserves a ton of respect. Despite the fact he has always had issues overcoming a weak chin, the Brit—who began his career at 140 pounds—is now set to challenge Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KO) for the WBC middleweight title.

The bout will be the first-ever boxing event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Alvarez has never competed at the 160-pound level, yet he owns a share of the title for that division. Go figure.

At any rate, the clash with Khan is still a classic style matchup between a smaller, quicker boxer versus a bigger, more lumbering slugger. Here's a look at the two episodes of the Canelo-Khan 24/7 hype series that have aired on HBO. It further identifies the styles clash that awaits boxing fans on Saturday:

Here's how you can watch the fight:

When: Saturday, May 7, at 9 p.m. ET

Where: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas

TV: HBO Pay-Per-View

Livestream: BoxNation

Last Time Out

Khan Outboxes Algieri

Al Bello/Getty Images

Chris Algieri is a speedy guy, but his quickness was still a notch below Khan's when the two fought at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, in May 2015. 

Khan won a relatively hard-fought unanimous decision, though two of the judges' scorecards had him winning by six points. The fight appeared to be a little closer than those scores suggested, as the 115-113 card from Don Ackerman seemed to be more accurate.

Algieri—who is not known for his punching power (eight KOs in 24 fights)—stunned Khan early in the fight with an overhand right. Khan's reaction immediately rekindled visions of him being stopped by Danny Garcia and Breidis Prescott and even being dropped by Julio Diaz in 2013.

This time, Khan was able to shake off the effects, but Algieri did land his right hand with some regularity. That could be a major concern for the Brit against a fighter like Alvarez.

The Mexican champion is the biggest and strongest opponent Khan has ever faced. What happens if Alvarez lands a right hand flush on the 29-year-old's chin? 

Obviously, that's not a test Khan wants to take.

Alvarez Dominates Cotto

JOHN GURZINSKI/Getty Images

In a highly anticipated battle with Puerto Rican legend Miguel Cotto, Alvarez coasted to a unanimous-decision victory and captured the WBC title.

Like Khan, Cotto is a fighter who made his name at 140 pounds. While he won the middleweight championship (also fighting beneath the 160-pound limit), the 35-year-old is 10 years and about 15 pounds removed from the wrecking machine he was as a junior welterweight.

Unsurprisingly, Alvarez's size was the key to his victory. He was able to touch Cotto from a distance, control him in the clinch and his punches seemed to have a bigger impact.

Is the matchup with Khan simply going to be a repeat of the fight with Cotto?

Prediction

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Khan presents a different challenge than Cotto, and it's all based on his speed. Few fighters in the world have hand speed on Khan's level. The only active guy who has quicker gloves is current WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr.

In any event, Khan's hands are a lot faster than Cotto's—and Canelo's for that matter. That said, he doesn't pack the same wallop that the Puerto Rican can when he sits down on his punches. 

Luckily for Khan, punching power is totally irrelevant for him in this bout. He's not going to win this fight by stoppage. His only path to a victory is via decision. To pull this off, he's got to employ a strategy very similar to the one Sugar Ray Leonard used to defeat Marvin Hagler back in 1987 by split decision. 

Leonard helped popularize the concept of stealing rounds in that fight. Essentially, he used his legs to stay away from Hagler for the vast majority of every round. Then toward the end of each frame, with about 30 or so seconds remaining, he launched an assault of punches.

Some landed, some didn't, but almost all of them scored points with the judges. This strategy neutralized Hagler's power and highlighted Leonard's speed advantage. Hagler felt he was wronged, but he wasn't. Leonard landed more punches and had a higher accuracy rate in the fight.

Hagler might have been the bigger, badder man, but Leonard won more rounds. Khan has to attack Canelo the same way. The only thing is, it still won't work. 

That's the perfect strategy for Khan, but his Achilles' heel is still going to bite him in this fight. What Leonard had that the Brit doesn't is a strong chin.

There were times when Hagler connected with decent shots, but Leonard had the beard to absorb them or, in most cases, the defensive reflexes to elude the big punches.

Canelo will find Khan's chin, and when he does, the fight will end. Bet on a sixth-round KO with Khan up on the scorecards.

---

Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter.