Amir can’t beat Popeye’s power
AMIR KHAN will be up against “Popeye” on Saturday night .
That is the view of Matthew Hatton, who lost to Saul ‘ Canelo’ Alvarez in 2011.
Khan, 29, is moving up from welterweight to face Mexican Alvarez for the WBC middleweight title in Las Vegas.
Hatton, the brother of former world champion Ricky, also fought Alvarez above his natural weight and could not believe the size of the Mexican, who piled on the pounds from the weigh- in and is expected to do the same for Khan.
“It was like Popeye eating his spinach, he was like a totally different man,” said Hatton, who was well beaten on points despite a spirited display.
“He is one of those fighters that can put on huge amounts of weight between the weighin and fight. I was already in there at that stage so I couldn’t do anything about it.”
Hatton also warned Khan about the hostile atmosphere he faces in the 20,000- seat T- Mobile Arena after he got stick at the much smaller Honda Centre in California. “It was intense. He’s probably the most popular fighter on the planet these days,” Hatton recalled. “I always had a little ritual when I got to an arena for a fight; I would get there and have a little walk around and get a feel for the place.
“As soon as I did that, to say I was getting a bit of stick was an understatement. I thought, ‘ Get me back in the changing rooms’.
“Amir is talking about taking some Brits over but it will be mostly Mexicans in the arena. Las Vegas is just over the border and they will all pour in for the fight.”
Hatton fears Khan will have as much trouble as he did in trying to stop Alvarez. “I see him having bits of success in the fight, but realistically can I see him winning it? I have to be honest and I can’t,” said Hatton. “I hope he can win because it would be great for British boxing but I just can’t see it. Alvarez will be too big and too strong for him.” Alvarez was fighting before he ever entered a ring. His fl ame- coloured hair made him stand out in Mexico and often led to schoolyard scraps . “I fought a lot,” he said. “A lot of times I got called names and was given nicknames, I was different. The boxing and the fighting is something that you are born with and it is in your blood.” Alvarez fell in love with boxing when, at the age of 10, one of his older brothers, Rigo, bought him a pair of gloves. Just five years later he would turn pro and now has 46 wins, one draw and just one loss at the hands of one of the best in Floyd Mayweather Jnr. The two- weight world champion is an icon in his country with the nickname ‘ Canelo’ – Spanish for cinnamon. The insult the bullies used to beat him with, or at least try to, is now the red- haired boxer’s defining feature. And his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, believes he is more popular than the national football team in a country crazy about the game.
This is all set up to be a coronation for Alvarez as he prepares to headline on the Mexican ‘ Cinco de Mayo’ holiday weekend, a big boxing date in Las Vegas that Mayweather ruled over for so long.
But he said he is not carrying the weight of expectation from Mexico as he looks to etch his name alongside some of his country’s greatest fighters.
“There is no pressure, but it is a great responsibility,” he said. “I’ve learned to deal with it with hard work.
“The great Mexican fi ghters have written their story, now I have to write mine.”
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