Khan vs. Algieri: Final Odds, Fight Time and Predictions
On Friday night, Amir "King" Khan will take what he hopes will be the fight that leads him to a major payday against pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. As part of the next episode of the Premier Boxing Champions series, Khan will face former 140-pound champion Chris Algieri at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Khan is coming off two of the most impressive performances in his career. In May 2014, he dominated Luis Collazo, dropping him three times en route to a unanimous-decision victory. Khan followed that win up with another lopsided unanimous-decision victory over Devon Alexander in December 2014.
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With those performances fresh in the minds of the boxing community, Khan's popularity is at an all-time high.
In June 2014, Algieri pulled off the biggest upset of the year when he overcame three early knockdowns to box circles around Ruslan Provodnikov. He won a split decision and the WBO super lightweight title in the process. In his next fight, he was brought back down to earth by Manny Pacquiao in November 2014.
Pacquiao floored Algieri six times en route to a unanimous-decision win. Because of recent history and a few other factors, Khan is the favorite heading into the bout. This is an intriguing fight, but it's one Khan should win.
| May 29 at 9 p.m. ET | Khan 1-16 |
Note: Odds courtesy of Odds Shark and updated as of May 29.
Algieri Is Fast, But Khan Is Faster
Easily, Algieri's best attributes are his speed and movement. The former kickboxer moves fluidly and has excellent coordination to place his jab and combinations. He also possesses the rare ability to fight moving backward.
Those qualities will be dulled a bit on Friday because Khan is even faster than Algieri. Aside from Mayweather, Gary Russell Jr. and perhaps Vasyl Lomachenko, no fighter in the sport has hand speed on par with Khan's.
This speed should enable Khan to beat Algieri to the punch and score with power shots when the opportunity arises.
No Knockout Power
While Algieri is fast, he lacks the power to make his opponents respect him. We all know Khan's biggest weakness has been his chin. Two of his three losses have come by knockout, and he's been nearly stopped by the likes of Marcos Rene Maidana and Julio Diaz in his career.
Even with that flaw, we have to wonder whether Algieri has the snap in his punches to exploit Khan's faulty chin. Algieri has just eight knockouts in his professional boxing career.
I had an opportunity to speak with Khan about his upcoming bout, and I asked him if he would be more aggressive due to Algieri's lack of power.
He said: "Any fighter can catch you with a good shot if they hit you flush, and you can be hurt. I plan on boxing smart, and I'm not taking Algieri lightly at all."
The better-safe-than-sorry approach is understandable because Khan realizes how much is on the line in this bout. An impressive win has to put him near the top of the list of fighters in line to face Mayweather.
A loss would likely stain his career forever and end his dream of facing an all-time great and enjoying the unprecedented payday that would likely accompany the opportunity.
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