Separating Fact from Fiction in the Lead-Up to Canelo Alvarez vs. Amir Khan

Sorting fact from fiction is never easy in boxing, especially leading up to a big-money pay-per-view fight. How could it be? No matter what the promoters, managers and television network executives really think about the matchup, their top concern is getting as many people to buy into it as possible.

Canelo Alvarez defends his lineal middleweight championship against former 140-pound titleholder Amir Khan on May 7. The fight will headline an HBO PPV card telecast live from the T‑Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

But how much of the buildup to the fight so far is fact? And how many fictions have already been bandied about by those involved?

Fiction: Khan Is Britain’s Top Fighter

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Oscar De La Hoya, who is promoting the fight, hailed Khan as “Britain’s top fighter” during a recent media call. Um, OK. Khan is a very good fighter, but it’s hard to pinpoint him, and only him, as the very best.

Khan’s most notable competition of similar size, Kell Brook, holds the IBF welterweight title. If he's so much better than him, why hasn't Khan faced Brook yet? And heavyweight Tyson Fury is the lineal heavyweight champion of the world, after wrestling the title away from one of the most accomplished heavyweights ever. James DeGale is the IBF super middleweight titlist, and other solid British fighters abound, too.

In short? Khan is on the list of top British fighters, but he’s by no means the clear best. He's probably not even the best of his weight class. 

Fiction: Alvarez Is a Very Big Middleweight Fighter

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Khan hailed Alvarez as a “very big middleweight” on the media call. This is only true from Khan’s perspective. Sure, Alvarez is bigger than Khan, at least on paper. He’s competed at junior middleweight and middleweight over the last few years and has held the lineal championship in both divisions. 

Khan? He’s only held titles at 140 pounds and started his career as a lightweight. One has to wonder, then, just how exactly he fits in as an opponent for the middleweight champ.

The short answer is that he probably doesn't. 

Fiction: This Is the Biggest Fight of the Year

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Nope. It’s just not. During the media call, one of the reporters called it such, but that just seems like something someone says because they want the promoters and fighters to like them or at least be in a good mood for the question.

Alvarez-Khan is a big fight. I guess. Alvarez is a star fighter, and Khan is at the very least a well-known fighter from the UK. But Manny Pacquiao’s win over Timothy Bradley last week was a more important fight between two elite fighters, and Tyson Fury’s upcoming rematch against Wladimir Klitschko will be as well.

Let’s put it this way: If Canelo-Khan turns out to be the biggest fight of the year, it’s a really bad time to be a fight fan.

Fiction: The Winner Will Be the Next Big Superstar in Boxing

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The person who wins Canelo-Khan will have a nice feather in his cap. It’s a high-profile bout. If anything, HBO’s promotional packaging during the lead-up will make the bout seem way more important and way more competitive than it probably turns out to be.

But the winner isn’t a shoo-in for boxing’s next big superstar. Gennady Golovkin, Andre Ward, Sergey Kovalev, Keith Thurman and Deontay Wilder will all have something to say about that in 2016.

Fact: Khan’s Speed Could Give Alvarez Some Trouble

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That’s the hook of this fight or at least that’s the selling feature you’ll probably hear most about heading toward May. It's true. Khan’s a ridiculously fast fighter, and while Alvarez is no slouch in that department, he’s nowhere near as blazingly quick as Khan.

In a vacuum, speed vs. power is a compelling dynamic, so if Alvarez relies only on his advantage in power, he’ll have a rough night. But Alvarez isn’t just some brute. He knows what all good fighters know: Timing beats speed, and that's what he'll try to use against Khan.  

Fiction: The Winner of the Fight Will Be the Best Middleweight in the World

Rich Schultz/Associated Press

Here are two things that shouldn’t be separated as often as they are in boxing: the best fighter in the division and the lineal champion.

Alvarez is the latter, but he hasn’t defeated any top middleweight besides Miguel Cotto, who wasn’t a real middleweight in the first place. So while Alvarez’s historical accomplishment is noteworthy, he’ll be nowhere near the best middleweight in the world until he fights and defeats other top middleweights, especially Golovkin.

Whether Alvarez or Khan wins doesn’t matter. Whoever it turns out to be will not be considered the best middleweight fighter in the world until he fights Golovkin.