"Look, Floyd had the blueprint to beat him. Floyd's a great fighter, but I've also seen the fight against Lara. These guys have good footwork, good movement, and decent handspeed, and I think that's what gives Canelo problems. Obviously before I even agreed to fight him, I had to watch some videos. I said, look, let me see some videos of him and see what he does good and what he does bad and see if I can beat this guy. I really believe I can beat him. Having the height as well, you know, I really think I've got everything it takes to win this fight and win it in good fashion," stated former world champion Amir Khan, who spoke in-depth about his intriguing May 7 showdown with WBC middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez. Check it out!
BT: Amir, congratulations on getting the big fight with Canelo Alvarez.
AK: It's a good fight, brotha. Look, I really believe in myself. I really think I can win this fight by being smart and using my attributes. No disrespect, Canelo's an amazing fighter. He's a very strong guy and a lot of people are scared to fight him, but I stepped up to the plate, and I think by me stepping up, it proves a point that Amir Khan wants to fight the best names in boxing, obviously chasing Mayweather and chasing Manny Pacquiao. People were saying I was scared to fight Kell Brook. I mean, I even wanted to fight Kell Brook this time, but obviously we couldn't negotiate the terms, so that's why I moved on to the fight against Canelo.
BT: The fact that no one even knew that the fight was being negotiated made it that much more intriguing when it was officially announced. It's very rare when nothing at all leaks out to the media. Was it difficult to keep everything under wraps?
AK: Everything leaks out, man. We spoke to Oscar and everyone, and I spoke to Al Haymon and Al said to me, "Yeah, I'll make the fight happen if you want the fight. I'll get you that fight." Al said, "It's a good fight for us if we do the right things," and Al really thinks I deserve a big fight like this. Al was always involved on our side. He's my advisor, which everyone knows.
BT: Were you surprised at the reaction from fans and media when the fight was announced? Regardless of what people thought about the fight, I think the general consensus was that Amir Khan has big balls to step up and fight Canelo.
AK: Yeah, I mean, I think I've always been that type of fighter where I want to always fight the top names. I never had the opportunity, so I've kind of proven to everyone that, look, I want to fight the big people and the best people out there, and by beating them, it would prove what type of character and what type of fighter I am. I'm one of them fighters who wants to win and I want to set a statement, and also, the other fighters around the world, make them realize, look, you have to fight the best. The best have to fight the best. There's no point hiding and not fighting. I hope this kind of sends a message to all the fighters out there. Look, if I would have just said it, people would have been like, "What the hell? Amir is just full of shit," but because I went there and did it, I think a lot of people respect me for that. They can say what they want, but the respect is still there for me like, "Amir is fighting this guy. He didn't need to. He could've gone an easier route."
BT: A lot of people are making a big deal about the weight difference between you two. Do you look at it the same way as everybody else? Do you consider Canelo to be that much bigger than you?
AK: I look at him as a dangerous guy, a very dangerous guy, and I'm not taking an easy one, but I'm going to go in the ring expecting the most dangerous Canelo, who is heavy-handed with both hands and who has everything. I'm going to train for the best Canelo. I think he's a good fighter, but I really believe I can beat him. I really believe that the best Amir Khan will definitely beat him.
BT: Some are speculating that he might be 20 pounds heavier than you on the night of the fight. Do you think that will be the case?
AK: How much do you think he's going to go into the ring at?
BT: I mean, if he's weighing in at 155, I can see him packing on 20 pounds overnight, so he'll probably be around 175ish, maybe 180, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he'll have 20 pounds on you. Obviously it depends on how much you plan on weighing. Are you going to come in heavier or are you going to stay light to retain your speed?
AK: That's the one thing that he's going to have an advantage, but I also have a lot of good advantages; the speed, the movement, and everything else I think. That's what's going to help me in this fight. Look, if the weight is 155, I'm going to come in at 155 naturally and see how it works for me. I'm going to just do what my body tells me and see how I feel. I'm ready, man. This is a big fight for me and I want to prove everyone wrong. All these doubters and everything, I want to prove to them how good Amir Khan is and how good I am. I get a lot of criticism and stuff, but I think it's time now where I tell them. I mean, look, I think I've already won. Having the balls to fight someone like him, being so much heavier than me, I think that answers everything anyway, saying I'm not scared and showing my character, man, because there's a lot of fighters out there who would be scared and who would not want to fight big guys like Canelo and them guys, but I am because I've been let down too many times and I saw this opportunity and I'm taking it because I really believe I can win this fight.
BT: Do you plan on sparring with heavier guys to get accustomed to the higher weight?
AK: Yeah. Sparring is going to be with heavier guys just to get used to that heaviness and I'm looking forward to it. I've got some good sparring partners we're going to be flying in and we're just going to be smart in this fight. We know what to do. I mean, look, there's some things that we're going to be working on in the strategy and the game plan. We're not going to really do anything that's going to give him a chance to hit me. We know what to do, man. We know how to win this fight and by winning this fight, it'll definitely take us right to the top where we need to be.
BT: I know you motivate yourself to train no matter who the opponent is. That said, do you think the magnitude of this event gives you that extra motivation that might have been missing in some of your past fights?
AK: It's on a massive level. I've always wanted to fight on pay-per-view and become a pay-per-view fighter one day. I think that's what it is, man. Fighting on pay-per-view, fighting one of the top fighters of his division, fighting a world champion, fighting Canelo, who is a big name in boxing, like I said, this is what makes me train harder. I'm going into this fight as the underdog. I've never been in a fight as an underdog. I've always gone into every fight as the favorite. When you're the favorite all the time, that pressure's not there. I need a little bit of pressure, a little bit of drive. I think with this fight, being the underdog, I really want that because that's the way I'm going to perform and that's the way I'm going to prove people wrong and prove that Amir Khan is one of the best fighters out there. For me, this fight is like the most dangerous and the fight that can make history in my career.
BT: Does the fact that it is a dangerous fight make you more focused more or make you more aware and alert inside the ring?
AK: Yeah, it definitely does. I mean, look, I've seen Floyd Mayweather when he trains for fights, he's always scared of getting beat and he's always scared of not winning a fight. Basically I'm the same. Having that fear, I mean, not fear, but having a dangerous fight and knowing that you can get hurt in this fight is only going to make me work harder and train harder.
BT: Where will a win over Canelo put you in terms of pound-for-pound talk?
AK: It puts me at the top of the table in the pound-for-pound rankings. Yeah, man, I mean, that's when the big fights come to me. I really believe that beating Canelo will put me as one of the top fighters in the pound-for-pound lists.
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