Canelo admits Khan ‘scared him’ ahead of Golovkin trilogy

Canelo Alvarez was left concerned for Amir Khan’s safety after he spectacularly knocked out the Brit in 2016. Canelo and Khan met each other at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the Mexican’s WBC and Ring Magazine middleweight titles.

Khan, who had gone up two weight classes to take the contest, started brightly as he used his superior speed to dart in and out of range.

But the former pound-for-pound king continued to plod forward undeterred. As the rounds went on Canelo began to target Khan’s body in order to lower his guard and present openings to the head.

And in the sixth, it all paid off as he faked a jab to the body and came over the top with a perfectly timed overhand right that bounced Khan’s head off the canvas in one of the most brutal knockouts in boxing history.

Canelo and Golovkin last fought each other at middleweight in 2017 and 2018 but will now square off at super-middleweight for Canelo’s WBC, WBA (super), IBF, WBO, and Ring Magazine straps.

Their first contest ended in a split draw although the consensus is that GGG should have had his hand raised on the night. When they boxed again 364 days later, it was another close-fought contest, but this time Canelo was given the nod via majority decision.

Once again, the result was heavily contested by fans and media alike – leaving the door open for a definitive decider. With all of that history, a previously respectful rivalry has since turned sour.

During the launch press conference, Canelo tore into Golovkin as he claimed that despite pretending to be a “nice guy” the Kazakh is really an “a***hole”. These comments come after Golovkin branded Canelo a ‘cheat’ following the news that the Mexican had tested positive for clenbuterol ahead of their original May 2018 date – which is believed to be where the dislike has branched from.