Saul Alvarez to fight Amir Khan on May 7

Amir Khan has finally landed the kind of mega-fight that he has been seeking for years, as it was announced on Tuesday that he will take on Mexican superstar Saul Alvarez on May 7th in Las Vegas.

Alvarez, 25, beat Miguel Cotto by a unanimous points decision to claim the title in Las Vegas in November. “It’s going to be a great fight on May 7”, Khan’s father, Shah, said in a press release.

Alvarez stands as the most popular active fighter following the September retirement of Floyd Mayweather Jr., but the possibility of him choosing Gabriel Rosado or Willie Monroe was upsetting to many fans after Alvarez opted to delay an anticipated showdown with Gennady Golovkin until the fall. Khan’s last fight was in May 2015, a points welterweight victory over American Chris Algieri.

“I know Canelo fights the best and wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to face me like others have”, said Amir Khan. “My goal is to always fight the biggest names and the best fighters”.

Parkinson also noted that Khan was looking at a tune-up bout before challenging Danny Garcia or Kell Brook in a title fight over the summer. Also, I would like to thank my team and Golden Boy Promotions for this opportunity.

Khan, who was jilted in his efforts to fight Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, trains in the Bay Area under Virgil Hunter, who trains unbeaten light-heavyweight Andre Ward and is moving up in weight substantially to fight Alvarez. “He’s exciting. So I think Amir Khan vs. Canelo would be interesting”.

The fight has been put together by Golden Boy Promotions, and CEO Oscar De La Hoya believes this will be the must-see fight of 2016.

The Bolton native, who has a record of 31 wins and three defeats as a professional, has won his last five fights.

Per Dan Rafael of ESPN.com, Canelo vs. Khan will be for the middleweight championship held by Alvarez. Add in the great fans from the United Kingdom and it should make for a great atmosphere come fight night.

Alvarez carries a big punching reputation and has won 46 of his 48 fights – he had a draw against Jorge Juarez in only his fifth contest – by way of 32 knockouts.

On May 7, Canelo has Amir Khan standing in front of him as his next one.