Amir Khan enjoys being underdog in Canelo Alvarez bout

Amir Khan believes being the underdog in his bout against WBC middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez would give him the pressure to perform well and prove doubters that he can beat the Mexican champ.

Although Khan claims he has never fought as an underdog in his career, against a bigger Alvarez, all the odds seem to be against the Bolton welterweight. However, Khan isn't fretting about not being the favourite to win the bout, but rather relishes the status of being an underdog, with the belief it would bring out his best in the boxing ring.

"When you're the favorite all the time, that pressure's not there. I need a little bit of pressure, a little bit of drive,” Khan said, reports the Digital Journal. “I think with this fight, being the underdog, I really want that because that's the way I'm going to perform and that's the way I'm going to prove people wrong and prove that Amir Khan is one of the best fighters out there.”

Khan will face Alvarez on May 7 in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena at a catchweight of 155 pounds. This means the British boxer will climb from the welterweight division to middleweight’s 155-160 pound limit.

The huge difference in size and body frame may have serious implications on Khan’s chances of winning, with the 29-year-old yet to fight at such weight class. However, Khan revealed his decision to move up to middleweight was the lack of real competition in the welterweight division.

“The reason that I’m going up now, is because nobody in my division [welterweight] wants to fight me,” Khan said, reports Boxing Scene. “Mayweather let me down, Pacquiao let me down, Danny Garcia let me down, so I’m in a position where people don’t want to fight me.”

The Canelo-Khan bout may have gotten the interests of both fighters’ fan-base, making it potentially one of the biggest fights in 2016. But boxing fans and pundits have already predicted the outcome, with Alvarez as the favourite to retain his title belt.