Canelo vs. Khan Expert Predictions: 30 Picks For Saturday's Middleweight Boxing Championship Fight

Canelo Alvarez Amir Khan — Amir Khan and Canelo Alvarez go face to face during a press conference to preview the their May 7 fight. Getty

Canelo Alvarez vs. Amir Khan is being billed as one of the biggest fights of the year, but nearly all of the experts agree on the outcome for Saturday's title fight in Las Vegas. Most predictions have Alvarez coming out on top, and the only disagreement is how the Mexican fighter will come away with a victory.

Alvarez is widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, and has a clear advantage as Khan makes a significant leap in weight classes. After just a few fights at welterweight, Khan will face Alvarez at 155 pounds. Khan has won his last five fights, but he’s never defeated a top boxer, failing to take on the likes of Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao, or even Timothy Bradley or Kell Brook at 147 pounds. Now that he’s set to face the world’s best 155-pound fighter, Khan could be in for his first loss since 2012.

“Khan will be facing many disadvantages. He’s giving up the weight. Khan is taller, but Canelo will be the bigger and stronger fighter,” former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito said via RingTV.com.

“Khan’s chin is not great. Khan has been dropped, hurt, and knocked out. He’s facing a strong fighter with a big punch. Khan has been inactive. Inactivity is a boxer’s worst enemy. Unfortunately, Khan was too focused on landing fights with Mayweather and Pacquiao. He lost valuable time outside of the ring. Training and sparring is not the same as fighting in an arena with thousands of fans cheering for and against you.”

Alvarez defeated Miguel Cotto by unanimous decision in his last fight, but many experts believe he’ll stop Khan early. Alvarez is known for his power, and it should play a major factor against the smaller Khan. Khan has been knocked out twice in his career, and Alvarez has won by early stoppage in two of his four fights since he was beaten by Mayweather.

Though support for Khan might be hard to find, there are some boxers that believe he can pull off the upset. Two-time cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham thinks Khan is good enough to outlast the favorite.

“Khan’s hand speed and his combination and his volume punching and the guidance of (trainer) Virgil Hunter, we’re going to see a great display of boxing ability,” Cunningham said via Forbes. “It’s going to be a chess match in the beginning and then it will heat up. Khan will be able to weather those storms. I’m not going to put money on it, but I’ll stick with it.”

Below are expert predictions for Alvarez vs. Khan

Brian Campbell, ESPN: Alvarez by KO

Steve Carp, Las Vegas Review-Journal: Alvarez by TKO

Tim Dahlberg, Associated Press: Alvarez by TKO

Richard Damerell, Sky Sports: Khan

Kathy Duva, Main Events Boxing CEO: Alvarez

Jorge Ebro, Miami Herald: Alvarez by KO

Stephen Edwards, trainer: Alvarez by TKO

Gavin Glicksman, The Sun: Khan by decision

David Greisman, BoxingScene.com: Alvarez by TKO

Leo Groves, RingTV.com: Alvarez by TKO

Robert Guerrero, welterweight boxer: Alvarez by TKO