Canelo vs Khan
Khan faces the biggest fight of his career against Canelo on Saturday. Getty

Over half of IBTimes UK's readers believe Amir Khan will dethrone Saul 'Canelo' Alavrez and become the new WBC middleweight champion.

Khan, 29, has moved up two weight classes to take on Alavrez at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday 7 May. The 25-year-old Mexican has just one professional defeat to his name – a 2013 loss to Floyd Mayweather Jnr – and is considered the heavy favourite to retain his title.

The Bolton-born fighter is hoping to crash the Cinco de Mayo party, however. In a poll of over 1000 readers, 52% are backing Khan to win his third world title and cause one of the biggest boxing upsets in recent memory.

Khan's best hopes of causing an upset on Saturday rests on his superior speed in the ring, with Danny Garcia, the last man to beat Khan, insisting the Briton has the tools necessary to down Canelo.

"I think Khan has the perfect style to beat Canelo," he told Fighthype. "If you're talking talent, I think Khan is definitely more talented than Canelo.

"The only thing is, can he sustain Canelo's attack and power? Can he survive in the later rounds? But I think Khan is going to start good in the fight. If he has a strong finish, if he finishes strong, he has a chance to win the fight. He has to be able to take a big punch.

"But as far as style, I think he's got a good style to beat Canelo. But we don't know if he's physically strong enough."

Meanwhile, Canelo's own promoter, hall of famer Oscar de la Hoya, has not only backed Khan to take the world title, but to do so "easily."

"Amir must adhere absolutely to his game plan. He will have to fight the perfect fight. If he does that, if he stays on the outside and moves from side to side and uses that speed of his, in and out, he not only wins but wins easily."

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