NEW YORK ? Amir Khan can sense that even fewer fans believe he can beat Terence Crawford than gave him a chance three years ago to upset Canelo Alvarez.
?I?ve been written off so badly for this fight, even more than the Canelo fight,? Khan told BoxingScene.com following a press conference Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. ?But it?s good because I think the win?s gonna be even bigger and better because of that.?
Khan technically moved up to middleweight to challenge Alvarez, whom Khan fought at a contracted catch weight of 155 pounds in May 2016 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Through five rounds, Khan was ahead on one of the three scorecards (48-47, 47-48, 46-49).
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Alvarez then caught Khan with a crushing right hand that knocked Khan unconscious in the sixth round. That devastating defeat marked the third time Khan lost by knockout or technical knockout and at least partially initiated a 23-month break between bouts.
Two wins later, Khan has accepted another daunting assignment. Crawford is Khan?s size, but the WBO welterweight champion is perhaps, pound-for-pound, the best boxer in the sport.
The 31-year-old Crawford (34-0, 25 KOs), of Omaha, Nebraska, is a 16-1 favorite against England?s Khan (33-4, 20 KOs). Their 12-round, 147-pound title bout is the main event of ESPN Pay-Per-View?s four-fight telecast Saturday night from Madison Square Garden (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT; $69.95 in HD).
?I just feel that probably because my last fight against Vargas wasn?t so good that people are saying, ?Wait a minute. Amir has lost it,? ? Khan said. ?I mean, I wasn?t with [trainer] Virgil [Hunter] then, there was a lot going on in my life and I had the hand operation. I?m glad that fight happened like that and it went the way it did, because it got me this fight, I believe.?
Samuel Vargas knocked down Khan in the second round of their September 8 bout in Birmingham, England. Khan came back to drop Vargas (30-5-2, 14 KOs) in the third round and easily out-pointed Vargas in their 12-rounder.
In his previous appearance, the 32-year-old Khan needed just 39 seconds to knock out Toronto?s Phil Lo Greco last April 21 in Liverpool, England. Almost exactly a year later, Khan will have an opportunity to change the negative narrative of his career.
?This is the biggest level, at the highest level, and this is where I wanna be,? Khan said. ?Fighting Terence Crawford, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. I respect him, how good he is. I respect who he is. I respect what he?s done in the sport of boxing, but I?m not gonna let that get to me.?
