By Ian S Palmer
One of the best welterweight matchups of the year takes place this Saturday, December 13 when Amir Khan of England takes on American Devon Alexander. Both boxers are former world champions who are aiming for another title shot. The 12-round bout will be held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and can be seen on the Showtime network in the U.S. and on Super Channel in Canada. British fans will be able to catch the action on Sky Sports 1. The fight is for Khan’s WBC Silver Welterweight Championship.
The 27-year-old Khan will climb into the ring with a record of 29-3 with 19 Kos while the 28-year-old Alexander is 26-2 and has 14 Kos to his name. They’re both just over 5-feet-8-inches tall, but Khan has a minimal one-inch reach advantage. The only other major difference is the fact that Alexander is a southpaw. Their pro experience is pretty close too as Khan has boxed 179 rounds and Alexander has 189 under his belt.
Both boxers have faced some of the top opponents in their weight classes and have plenty of experience in big-time championship fights. Khan is hoping for a mega payday against Floyd Mayweather, but the American just keeps stringing him along. Even if Khan manages to beat Alexander on Saturday night he’s not guaranteed a shot at Mayweather. The real reason could be because Khan might just have the best chance of anybody at handing Mayweather his first defeat.
The reason for this is Khan’s speed and boxing ability, which helped him win a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Athens as a 17-year-old in 2004. When he’s at the top of his game Khan is extremely quick and hard to beat. His weak spot could be his chin and he’s not that hard to hit. His last fight was a 12-round unanimous decision win over Luis Collazo in May while Alexander’s last outing saw him beat Jesus Soto-Karass by a 10-round unanimous decision in June.
Alexander is also a fine boxer and has about the same level of power as Khan. He may have a slightly better chin and that could be a big factor in this fight. Alexander’s two losses came to Shawn Porter last December and Timothy Bradley via a 10-round technical decision in January, 2011. Alexander lost his IBF title to Shawn Porter via a unanimous decision and Porter then lost the crown to Khan’s fellow countryman Kell Brook by majority decision in August.
Khan was stopped in the first round by Breidis Prescott in 2008 and was then on the wrong end of a brutal split decision when he lost to Lamont Peterson in December of 2011. His other loss was also by KO when Danny Garcia stopped him in the fourth round in 2012.
Khan moves around the ring extremely well and you’ll never find him standing around. He likes to get in and out as fast as possible, but isn’t afraid to stand his ground and mix things up. He isn’t the most powerful puncher in the division, but his speed combined with power can knock his opponents on their ass at any time. He doesn’t mind throwing punches from all angles either and doesn’t have to be prodded by his corner to let his hands go.
Alexander also had a fine amateur career and possesses many of the traits that Khan does, except he can take a punch better. Both boxers need to establish their jab early on and work off of it. Ultimately we could see a bit of a mirror image in this fight, mush like the Sugar Ray Leonard vs Wilfredo Benitez title fight of 1979.
Prediction
This is an excellent matchup for boxing fans as both boxers are worthy of their world-class status. It’s likely that it will go the distance since neither man has one-punch knockout power. However, a knockdown isn’t out of the question. This could come down to whoever wants it the most and lets their hands go. Khan will probably take the initiative here and that could be enough for him to win a close decision.
