Amir Khan is currently in training as preparation to go toe to toe with opponent Devon Alexander are going to be moving up to the next level with December 13th firmly around the corner. The fight has been pointed to as a make or break fight for both former champions who are both looking to be able to secure a fight with Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao next year.
On paper, Khan has the better record. With 29 wins, 3 losses and 19 KOs, he has 3 wins and 5 KOs in hand over his opponent but has one more loss, however, whether this will make a difference when it comes to the 13th December will be decided when the pair battle it out.
The fight was meant to happen last year, however, Khan pulled out in the hopes that he would face Mayweather. This was not to be however, as Mayweather went on to fight Marcos Maidana twice that year. Both fighters think they have a fair shot at Mayweather as both have defeated Maidana and so see themselves in his place when the next Mayweather sweepstake comes around.
Fighting against Khan will be Alexander’s first time in Vegas, as a southpaw, his fighting style will also be a little bit different to what Khan may be used to.
“It’s a fight that the fans are going to love,” Commented Khan at the Golden Boy Promotions press conference earlier this month, “You’ve got two fighting styles, two young fighters that are hungry and also two fighters that are at the peak of their career.”
Khan’s last fight, against Luis Collazo, was also facing a southpaw. This should give the olympic gold medalist the experience that he needs to be able to adapt to the different way of boxing and learn how to deal with it. In the past, both of Alexander’s losses have been to roughhouse tactics where his opponent has bullied him off his game and stopped him from using his superior technical abilities. If Khan manages to exploit this, it will give him a good chance to defeat one of the best opponents he’s ever faced.
Khan needs to keep an eye out on his defense, there have been times when Khan has overcommitted with his blindingly speedy 5+ combinations leaving his chin over for a left hook. Being a southpaw, Alexander leads with his left which could mean that Khan could run into some serious problems if his opponent finds a way to soak up his combinations enough to land the hook.
Overall, the Vegas fight is really shaping up to be an exciting bout. On paper and looking at past form it’s looking really hard to call who’s going to be coming out of this fight victorious. What is easy to call though, is that both of these fighters are going to go all out on December 13th, because if they don’t, they may lose their only chance at the big league.
