Canelo Alvarez snubs Amir Khan as he names most difficult fighters he’s faced

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez defended his WBC middleweight title against Khan back in 2016, but the Mexican boxing great doesn’t see ‘King’ as one of the most difficult fighters he’s shared the ring with

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has revealed the most challenging fighters he’s gone to toe to with over the years – and Amir Khan hasn’t made the cut.

The 34-year-old Mexican, who fights at a super-middleweight level these days, shared the ring with ‘King’ Khan back in 2016, defending his at the time WBC middleweight title in Las Vegas. Despite 37-year-old Khan being a dangerous opponent with a record of 31-3 at the time – known for his incredibly speed – Canelo made light work of the Bolton native, knocking him out in the sixth round.

Alvarez caught Khan with a solid overhand-right, which sent his opponent tumbling to the canvas before being waved off by referee Kenny Bayless. And while Canelo may have been one of Khan’s toughest tests in the squared-circle to date, especially given the fashion of the brutal knockout, the sentiment doesn’t appear to be shared by Alvarez.

Canelo has accrued an impressive 61-2 record in his career to date – the highlight of his career arguably becoming the first man to become undisputed in the super-middleweight division through his victory over Caleb Plant in 2021. Alvarez went into the fight already adorned with the WBA (Super), WBC and WBO super-middleweight straps, putting them all on the line for Plant’s IBF super-middleweight title.

And he made history at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas by securing an 11th round TKO over his American opponent to achieve undisputed greatness. However, neither Plant or Khan make Canelo’s list of most difficult opponents, despite the intense pressure on him to succeed.

Speaking on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast, Canelo admitted: “I think I’ve had a lot of hard fights, but I think the most difficult was with Floyd Mayweather. The hardest fight was with Golovkin.” He added: “Everyone can say that Golovkin was the hardest puncher I faced, but I never felt his punch like the ones of James Kirkland.

“He hit me in the arms, and they felt like rocks. And I thought that I needed to knock that guy out right there, because he was going to hit me a lot throughout the fight.” Floyd Mayweather Jr may not surprise hardcore boxing fans around the world, given that he handed him the first loss of his career many moons ago.

The superstar was bettered over 12 rounds and ultimately lost via majority decision, parting ways with his WBC light-middleweight title. Mayweather is widely considered to be the best boxer of all time through his flawless 50-0 record, beating a who’s who of names over the years including Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya to name but a few.

Gennady Golovkin, meanwhile, has faced Canelo three times and is still yet to beat him. The two first met in September 2017 in a bout which ultimately ended in a draw after 12 rounds. The two met again almost a year to the day later with unfinished business, with Canelo besting his Kazakhstani rival via majority decision after another gruelling 12 rounds in the ring.

However, that wasn’t the end of the fierce rivalry between the two. Canelo went on to collect wins over the likes of Billy Joe Saunders, Rocky Fielding and Daniel Jacobs before meeting Golovkin in the ring once more in September 2022 – ultimately winning once again via unanimous decision to cap off an incredibly exciting trilogy.

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