Amir Khan might be an underdog for his title fight with Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez, but he has an added incentive to record a shock.
The Bolton fighter goes into the middleweight title bout with an identical record to compatriot Ricky Hatton on foreign soil, with seven wins and two defeats in overseas fights.
Victory in Las Vegas on May 7 would see Khan extend his career record to 32-3 and become the only man other than Floyd Mayweather to defeat the Mexican.
Betting firm Sports Interaction make Canelo an odds-on favourite, with his British opponent an 11/4 shot to go 5-1 in Vegas bouts and potentially set up a meeting with Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin, and has compared his record outside the UK to some other top British contenders.
An 80% hit rate outside the UK would move the 29-year-old level with Prince Naseem Hamed (4 wins, 1 loss), though he would still have some way to go to match Lennox Lewis’ 21 wins and a draw from 22 bouts.
Lewis won on all seven of his trips to Las Vegas, but victory for Khan over Canelo would potentially be as big a turn-up as nearly any British victory in the Silver State.
