Amir Khan says he didn t want to demand a rehydration clause for his forthcoming fight with Saul Alvarez because he wants to make the biggest possible statement in his first bout above welterweight.
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Former world champion Khan will fight above welterweight for the first time in his career at a catchweight of 155lbs, officially middleweight, to challenge Alvarez for the Mexican s WBC title in Las Vegas on May 7.
Given the significant difference in size between challenger and champion when they appeared together in London, it appeared a risky oversight that Khan did not demand a restriction on Alvarez s weight on fight night. Alvarez s frame means there is little to stop him gaining a further 20lbs after weighing in to effectively compete at light-heavyweight and therefore leaving Khan, the underdog who turned professional as a lightweight, at an even greater disadvantage.
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However, the catchweight limit is only a pound over light-middleweight and fully five pounds below the official middleweight limit, meaning it s practically a light-middleweight fight, which is the next division above Khan s welterweight category. Alvarez has operated at light-middleweight for most of his career but won the WBC title against Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto when two light-middleweights fought at the same 155lbs catchweight for a middleweight belt. Khan s best chance comes in using his superior speed and mobility, but he still maintained he hadn t taken an unnecessary risk with the weight issue.
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“I wanted to do everything naturally because when I beat him I wanted to beat him fair and square and I don t want people thinking he was too dehydrated, he was too small, he couldn t put weight on ,” said Khan, who hasn t fought since beating Chris Algieri in May last year. “I want to beat the best Alvarez, fight the best Alvarez. The fights I ve been watching he was really hydrated, and normal, where he was happy making the weight. “Yeah (we considered a clause), I spoke to Virgil (Hunter, my trainer), and Virgil is the one who said to me look, if you re happy with the fight, it s a good fight for us . “He s been watching videos (of Alvarez) as well. What I have to do is stick to the game-plan. I can t make any mistakes or be a guy who loses focus or makes mistakes because I can get hurt for that.”
