Canelo Alvarez vs Amir Khan title fight must be respected, says WBC president

Amir Khan is set to fight for the WBC middleweight title against Canelo Alvarez at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on May 7 — one of the biggest fights in the British boxer's career â€” but the event has not grabbed much attention. Media and critics alike have their focus elsehwere, as discussions regarding a possible bout between Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin have already started, skipping the fact that the mega bout can only take place if the Mexican defeats Khan.

Such slow build-up has not gone down well with World Boxing Council (WBC) President Mauricio Sulaiman, who wants people to pay attention to the May 7 fight first, and respect the bout.

"It's a fight with a lot of risk for Alvarez. The coin is in the air (on who will win). We must pay close attention to this fight and then worry about what follows. Canelo will have to beat Khan (to get to Golovkin). (Golovkin vs Canelo is) a fight that has all the elements for a great event, but first Canelo must deal with Khan before thinking about anything else," boxingscene.com quoted Sulaiman as saying.

"Canelo vs Khan must be respected. It is an important fight. Amir Khan is a very skilled fighter, has power, hungry and determined to win. Canelo has to beat him.

"The winner of the fight will have the official challenger (Golovkin) who is the interim champion. We are going through a good time in boxing and we should give respect to the May 7 fight."

The undue attention towards the may-happen Calvarez vs Golovkin fight must have hurt Khan, who is one of the best boxers of the current generation. Khan will be keen to come up with his best on May 7, and silence critics, who have already deemed him second-favourite in the bout.

If Khan is to emerge victorious, he needs to keep himself out of Alvarez's strong punches, which has knocked down a number of pugilists over time. He should just focus on his strengths – quick hands and movement, which is one of the best in the business.