British welterweight Amir Khan will hope to strengthen his claim for an opportunity to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr on Saturday night when he takes on former 147lb champion Devon Alexander at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Khan made his debut in the division earlier this year, knocking down Luis Collazo four times on the way to a comfortable points win, but Alexander, who, like Khan, is a technically-gifted operator, will provide a sterner challenge for the Brit as both try to move closer to a world title shot during 2015.
Down the road at the Cosmopolitan, Irish middleweight Andy Lee will attempt to claim the vacant WBO title when he takes on unbeaten Russian Matt Korobov, with the winner in line to face Billy Joe Saunders in the spring.
Below, Sports Mole previews each contest while attempting to predict who will prevail in the fight capital of the world.
1. Amir Khan vs. Devon Alexander
After not fighting since April of that year, the end of 2013 was supposed to see Khan mark his debut in the welterweight division by taking on IBF champion Alexander. However, at a time where the Brit was focused on trying to agree terms to face pound-for-pound king Mayweather Jr, the 2004 Olympic silver medallist opted to withdraw from the world title contest to pursue his dream of facing the unbeaten American, allowing Shawn Porter to take his place against Alexander.
What transpired left Khan with nothing but regret. Porter dethroned Alexander on points and Mayweather decided to face Marcos Maidana, an opponent that Khan had already defeated, instead of facing the former light-welterweight champion. It was a bitter pill to swallow for Khan but it was an experience that he could learn from and one that allowed him more time to develop into a welterweight as well as spending more time adjusting his style with trainer Virgil Hunter.
In May, Khan took out his frustration on Collazo, who was soundly outclassed as Khan eased to a wide points decision. That win, though, is hopefully just the start for the Bolton-born boxer, who despite his inactivity in the past two years, remains a household name on either side of the pond and victory on Saturday night would give him an array of lucrative options moving into 2015.
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However, the challenge of Alexander is one that cannot be overlooked, and while many will look at his loss to Porter as a potential chink in his armour, the technical ability of the 27-year-old can't be criticised and as a southpaw, he will provide Khan with plenty of obstacles that he is going to have to overcome. 'The Great' isn't necessarily the biggest puncher but he is effective and if Khan doesn't arrive at the MGM Grand on his 'A' game, Alexander could quickly take control of the fight.
It's that kind of danger, though, that Khan could thrive upon. He was aware of the stakes when he dismantled Collazo on the undercard of Mayweather's first win over Maidana and he will be knowledgeable of the rewards if he can get the better of Alexander on Saturday night. Complacency has been a factor in Khan's setbacks in the past and it's one that can't be present against a man who has only lost to Porter and Timothy Bradley.
Despite the odds being offered by bookmakers, this should turn into a closely-fought fight with both Khan and Alexander keen to prove themselves as the better man from a technical perspective. Their respective gameplans will turn out to be important, though, and if Khan can apply the strategy devised by Hunter, he should be fast enough to earn a points victory.
2. Matt Korobov vs. Andy Lee
After he was knocked down by John Jackson during the opening round of their match in New York in June, a second opportunity at world honours looked to be slipping away from Lee but despite dropping the first four stanzas at Madison Square Garden, Lee responded with one of the knockouts of the year to reignite his career at the highest level.
The triumph over Jackson came at 154lbs, a new division for Lee after his spell at middleweight, but after Billy Joe Saunders gave up his position to face Korobov for the WBO title after it had been vacated by Peter Quillin, Lee had little hesitation in filling the breach to make a quick return to 160lbs.
Lee has put together five victories since he suffered his previous world title defeat to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr back in 2012, but that time has allowed him to gradually come to terms with the death of legendary trainer Emanuel Steward and link up with Adam Booth. It's a period that has seen Lee work on different aspects of his repertoire but the acid test of whether he can still consider himself as a top contender will come when he faces Korobov this weekend.
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Despite having 24 fights as a professional to earn his chance for a world title, Korobov is yet to face anyone of much significance, with only Derek Edwards, who will be facing Andre Dirrell in a world title eliminator at super-middleweight next week, his only notable success. However, after winning successive World Championship golds as an amateur, the Russian must be respected and is a worthy favourite ahead of the clash.
On paper, though, this is a winnable fight for Lee. The Irishman is a seasoned campaigner with experience of fighting at world level, whereas Korobov is relatively unproven, despite his dominance before making the transition to the paid ranks. Lee has spoken about the importance of taking Korobov into the championship rounds - a theory that is probably justified - but making his mark in the earlier rounds could also prove decisive and unless he can take Korobov out of his usual rhythm, he could find himself competing against the odds to win his first world title.
Darren Plant
