Former world champion Ricky Hatton believes Amir Khan could pull off an upset against Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in their upcoming showdown on May 7 at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Hatton, who is a close friend of Khan, told On The Ropes Boxing Radio that the British boxing superstar has the tools to win against Canelo, saying that speed and quickness will be a factor on fight night.
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"He's got a chance because he's very fast on his feet and very fast on his hands," Hatton said of Khan's chances. "If there's one thing that Canelo hasn't got -- even though he's improved since the Mayweather fight massively -- is the quickness of feet. He hits hard with both hands, he's a good boxer, but his feet aren't the quickest."
Like Hatton, Eddy Reynoso, Canelo's trainer, is also wary of Khan. The veteran trainer said that Canelo should not take Khan lightly because even Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao avoided facing the Bolton, England native.
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"You have to remember that neither Floyd Mayweather nor Manny Pacquiao wanted to fight him," Reynoso told ESPN Deportes via BoxingScene. "He was an Olympic medalist and he deserves our respect. Olympic boxing is different from the professional ranks, but he's gained great experience."
However, Hatton is concerned of Khan's ability to retain his speed and quickness when he goes up to 155 pounds. The reigning World Boxing Council middleweight champion has been fighting at 155 pounds, while Khan will fight above 147 pounds for the first time in his career.
"Whether Amir keeps the speed of feet after going up through the weights remains to be seen, maybe he's very fast at welterweight but do his feet move as fast when he moves up to middleweight? It will be interesting to see," Hatton added. "It's not an impossible job for Amir but he is up against it, and I think even Amir would say that."
Khan, who has a 31-3 record with 19 knockout victories, has won in his last five fights, including a unanimous decision victory against former light welterweight world champion Chris Algieri in May last year.
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