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Former Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford opponent critical of upcoming fight: 'I don't think Crawford and Canelo needs to happen'
While much of the boxing world is abuzz in anticipation of a September mega-fight between Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Terence "Bud" Crawford, Amir Khan is not among those looking forward to the recently confirmed bout.
Canelo defeated William Scull on Saturday night in a lacklustre super middleweight title unification fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but mere moments after having his hand raised the Mexican's focus turned towards undefeated four-weight champion Crawford.
A contest later this year between Canelo and Crawford has been heavily rumoured for months, and on Saturday His Excellency Turki Alalshikh confimed that the fight will take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sept. 12.
(Leigh Dawney/Queensberry)
With both men standing in the ring for Alalshikh's announcement, the hype has already begun building towards one of the biggest bouts in the sport's history. However, Khan, who suffered sixth-round stoppage defeats to both Canelo and Crawford, believes Bud has a lot more to lose than an unbeaten record when he steps into the ring with the two-time undisputed super middleweight king.
- Read next | Terence Crawford said this after his September fight with Canelo Alvarez was made official
"Canelo is a very dangerous fight for Crawford, you're only one punch away from getting hurt, Canelo's power is always going to be there," Khan told FastSlots. "Crawford has earned good money, he has a beautiful family, why risk it? You're only one punch away from getting hurt, and he doesn't really need the money or the fame.
“He's pound for pound the best fighter in the world. I was never the same fighter again after facing Canelo. You can get knocked down, fine, you can get back up again, but the knockout Canelo gave me, it probably took five years off my life. I was at the peak of my career and never came back as the same fighter again. I wasn't gun-shy or scared, but that one shot, it wasn't good for the body or the mind. And it changed my opponent’s strategy for fighting me, they all started to try to land that one big shot.”
The now-retired Khan criticized Canelo for his choice in opponents, with Crawford set to move up two weight classes from his most recent fight in order to challenge the Mexican for his titles. Khan said the American is too small an opponent for Canelo and accused the superstar of "looking for an easy way out."
“I don't think Crawford and Canelo needs to happen," Khan said. "Canelo fighting these smaller guys - he fought me and a lot of other smaller guys - he needs to fight someone his own weight. He's looking for an easy way out because he's not going to get hit or hurt by anybody. And it will hurt Crawford more if he loses against Canelo because he's an unbeaten fighter. He doesn't really need to take this fight to prove anything, he's proven himself time and time again.”
