Canelo vs. Khan Rematch: Pros and Cons of Alvarez vs. Khan 2
The Saul Alvarez and Amir Khan mega-match on Saturday went Canelo's way in decisive fashion with a huge right hook that knocked Khan out cold in the sixth round.
Just as we live in an era of movie sequels and series, boxing is a sport that has long been defined as long-running feuds. Alvarez and Khan are two of the best boxers in the world, with Canelo topping the ESPN.com's Dan Rafael's welterweight rankings coming into Saturday night.
Alvarez did not start out great in Saturday's fight, as Khan's speed advantage was causing him problems. The difference in size and power eventually caught up to Khan, as he was worn down over the next three rounds before being sent to the canvas.
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Let's explore some of the positives and negatives for a potential rematch between Alvarez and Khan after their epic battle.
Pro: Khan's Legacy
Khan has been one of the most unlucky boxers in the world, though not through any fault of his own. He's got a strong 31-4 career record, has held the WBA and IBF light welterweight titles and WBC silver welterweight title.
Yet seemingly every time an opportunity for a big-money match came up, the potential opponent went in a different direction. Khan's 2014 win over Devon Alexander seemingly set him up for a match against either Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao.
Mayweather and Pacquiao finally set aside their years-long feud to fight each other in one of the dullest major boxing matches in recent history.
Khan did his best to bait Mayweather into a match after the Pacquiao fight, telling Omar Al Raisi of the National in June 2015 he wasn't hearing anything from Mayweather's camp:
"Everywhere I go fans ask me only one question: When are you fighting Floyd? I was at the Boxing Hall of Fame the other week and everyone kept asking me the same question.
There is nothing more from their camp, Floyd is clearly avoiding me; that’s the fight I want, I’ve proved myself in the welterweight division, so I don’t know what more to do.
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Mayweather opted to fight Andre Berto, won in a unanimous decision and retired. Pacquiao fought Timothy Bradley for a third time last month, winning a unanimous decision that, based on the reported buyrate, per Rafael, no one cared about.
Khan took one year off after a narrow win over Chris Algieri before securing a major bout with Canelo. He's been trying to put himself out there for years in one of those big-money fights, finally getting a chance to prove himself on Saturday.
The problem with Saturday's fight is it helped solidify Khan's reputation as having a weak chin. Don't get me wrong, the punch Alvarez landed to knock him out was vicious, but three of his four career losses have come by knockout.
Khan is a proud man who will want to rewrite his reputation, especially after getting off to a strong start in this fight.
Con: Canelo's Legacy
On the other side, there's nothing for Canelo to gain from another fight with Khan from a boxing perspective. He came up short in his fight against Mayweather three years ago, but that has been the only negative mark on his career.
Alvarez got the biggest win of his career in his last fight, against Miguel Cotto, winning the vacant vacant WBC, The Ring and lineal middleweight titles.
Oscar De La Hoya, who runs Golden Boy Promotions, told John Dennen of BoxingNewsOnline.net Alvarez's camp did include a rematch clause in the event that Khan won this match:
"We put in the contract a rematch for a reason because this is a dangerous fight and obviously we wanted to make sure if Amir Khan beats Canelo we can automatically exercise our option and fight him right away. This is no walk in the park. I believe style make fights and this is a perfect example.
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That option, however, does not go the other way because Alvarez is the main draw in this fight. His bout with Cotto drew 900,000 buys on pay-per-view and $58 million in revenue, per Rafael. That's roughly twice the buys Pacquiao's last fight drew, to give a sense of how popular Alvarez is now.
There are other options for Alvarez to choose from, including the rumored potential blockbuster matchup with Gennady Golovkin, per Bob Velin of Boxing Junkie, that he doesn't have to go back to Khan if he doesn't want to.
Based on the result from Saturday, there is no reason for him to do so. Moving forward to take on new challengers will help him continue to secure his legacy in the sport.
Pro: The Almighty Dollar
Even though Alvarez and Khan will have their choice of opponents after this match, which took the usual Mayweather spot during the first weekend of May, there is something to be said for the power of money.
Khan was a surprise choice to fight Alvarez when the match was announced, though not because it was a bad fight. Khan took a huge chance by jumping up two weight classes to make the match happen.
King did get compensated for his efforts, as Chris McKenna of the Daily Star (via Boxing Scene.com) reported the 29-year-old was going to make approximately $13 million. McKenna noted the last British boxer to receive a purse that high was David Haye, who received $14.6 million for his 2011 bout with Wladimir Klitschko.
Fans don't necessarily like to think of sports as being about money, but it's hard to overlook that aspect of things when the dollar figure climbs that high.
There have been trilogies that no one needed to see—just look at the diminishing returns for Pacquiao-Bradley—but if Alvarez and Khan feel there is enough momentum coming out of this fight and fans are clamoring for more, why not make it happen?
Plus, with Khan moving up in weight and Alvarez moving down, it's easy to sell a story about both fighters now being more accustomed to their new bodies with more time and energy to prepare for a rematch.
Con: It's Time For Golovkin
If you look throughout history, whether it's with movies or sporting events, sequels rarely improve upon their predecessor in quality or audience engagement.
For every Godfather II, Dark Knight or Terminator 2, there are multiple instances of Speed 2, Caddyshack II and Jaws 2.
This was a spectacular finish for Alvarez, one that he can carry into a long-discussed fight against Gennady Golovkin.
Alvarez is going to have his choice of opponents, but all indications are Golovkin will be up next. Rafael noted what happened in the ring after Canelo knocked out Khan:
Golovkin wasted no time issuing a challenge to Alvarez on Twitter:
Boxing is not riddled with major stars at this moment, especially with Pacquiao's drawing power seeming to take a hit and Mayweather's "retirement," but there are enough opponents out there for both men at this moment to make a rematch more trouble than it's worth.
Rafael wrote last December that a potential Alvarez-Golovkin match would be the biggest boxing could possibly make, barring another Mayweather-Pacquiao contest.
If not now, when is the perfect time for Alvarez and Golovkin? Both fighters are coming off spectacular knockouts in their most recent fights, the world wants to see them lock horns and nothing is standing in the way anymore.
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