Amir Khan (Photo : Getty Images for Rolling Stone)
British boxing trainer Joe Gallagher believes Amir Khan can pull off an upset over Saul "Canelo" Alvarez when they meet in the boxing ring for the WBC middleweight title on May 7.
Gallagher, a former amateur boxer, is convinced that his compatriot Khan has a legitimate chance of winning against Alvarez despite the huge gap in terms of size and strength.
"Let's not forget Alvarez isn't this huge monster people are making him out to be," Gallagher told The Bolton News as reported by Boxing Scene.
"He is a good fighter and has improved but he is not a [Gennady] Golovkin of the world."
Khan, who naturally dwells in the welterweight division, will have to stack up some mass to meet Alvarez at a catchweight of 155 pounds. The Bolton welterweight has never fought above 147 pounds in his career, creating a potential problem of facing a bigger and stronger Alvarez, who rehydrates for more than 170 pounds during fight night.
But Gallagher noted that the 31-year-old British, a huge underdog in the Canelo vs Khan bout, can fend off the Mexican redhead if he sticks with head trainer Virgil Hunter's game plan.
Meanwhile, Golovkin, who takes on upcoming boxer Dominic Wade on Apr. 23 at the Forum in Inglewood, California, could be looking for another potential big fight if his mandatory title bout against Alvarez falls out.
According to K2 Promotions managing director Tom Loeffler, the unified middleweight titlist could face retiring boxer Bernard Hopkins this year if the tentatively scheduled Canelo vs Golovkin card in September would not push through.
"I've always said that if there's a middleweight champion willing to fight him, it's always going to be the priority," Loeffler said, reports said. "If [Billy Joe] Saunders isn't going to fight, if Canelo is not going to fight, we would consider a marketable name at 168 and Hopkins is more active than [Andre] Ward is, so it makes sense."
But while it would be marketable for Golovkin to fight an aging Hopkins, there is not much of a challenge for GGG if the bout happens. Golovkin's fight with Wade does not seem too intriguing as well, with the undefeated Kazakh favored to maul the American youngster.
The only remaining competition for Golovkin so far is Alvarez, but fans will have to wait whether the potential megafight of 2016 materializes.
