Canelo Alvarez flattens Amir Khan in 6th round, says he wants Gennady Golovkin next

LAS VEGAS - For five rounds Saturday night, Canelo Alvarez chased Amir Khan around the ring, looking for that opening to land the big punch everybody knew was coming.

Then, as quickly as you could snap your fingers, Canelo plowed a powerful overhand right flush into Khan's notoriously susceptible jaw, and the British fighter crumpled, his head bouncing off the canvas. He was out cold.

And just like that, the biggest fight of the year so far was history.

At 2:37 of the sixth round, it was officially declared a done deal. The pro-Canelo crowd roared its approval as referee Kenny Bayless waved it off. No 10-count was necessary on this night. Canelo raised his hands, then kneeled over Khan to make sure his vanquished opponent was all right.

The Mexican superstar, who seems to have all the qualifications to assume the mantle as the face of boxing, retained his WBC middleweight title thanks to his spectacular one-punch knockout.

And with that, the inaugural boxing card in front of a near sellout crowd of 16,540 at the gorgeously pristine T-Mobile Arena just off the Vegas Strip was history. Thousands of delirious Canelo fans went home happy, their Cinco de Mayo weekend brought to the perfect close, a weekend that Canelo will own in this town for as long as he wants.

Sitting ringside was an interested spectator, Gennady Golovkin, the unified middleweight champion who also holds the WBC interim belt, which makes him the mandatory next opponent of Canelo. Triple G watched his rival's version of a "big drama show" unfold before his eyes.

After it ended, Canelo came over to the ropes and gestured to Golovkin to come into the ring, as if to say, "Come on up, you're next."

"Like I said in Mexico, 'We don't (expletive) around,' " said Canelo (47-1-1, 33 KOs). "We don't come to play in this sport. I fear no one in this sport.

"I'll fight (Triple G) right now. Let's put the gloves on and get in there with him."

Khan, who was hospitalized as a precaution after the fight but tweeted that he was OK, and his trainer Virgil Hunter both agreed that Canelo should fight Golovkin next.

"I think it's time that Canelo steps in the ring with Triple G," said Khan (31-4, 19 KOs).

Said Hunter: "He's gotta quit hiding behind the flag and fight Triple G."

Golovkin was impressed by Canelo's performance, saying it was "perfect, very good, and a good atmosphere." He said he thought their fight would be a good matchup between two middleweights.

Canelo and Golden Boy Promotions now have 30 days - Golovkin's trainer, Abel Sanchez says it's actually 15 - to negotiate a fight with Golovkin, after which time it would go to a purse bid. If Canelo does not accept a fight, he could be stripped of his title by the WBC.

During the post-fight press conference, Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya announced that he would call Golovkin's promoter first thing in the morning to start negotiations for the biggest fight that could be made in boxing.

The big issue has been the weight - Canelo fights his middleweight fights at 155 pounds, and Golovkin said he would not fight below 160, the weight class limit. But Canelo, who has been steadfast in his opposition to actually fight at 160 pounds, said after the fight that he would "fight Golovkin at 160, no problem" if that's what it took to make the fight.

Saturday's feature fight unfolded as many of the pundits had predicted during the week leading up to the fight. Khan's speed would fluster Canelo early, which it did, but sooner or later the Mexican would catch the skillful British fighter and drop him, which he did.

Canelo showed he could box as well as punch, and attacked Khan to the body, knowing early on he was unable to get to his head as Khan moved around the ring to avoid Canelo's lunging knockout swings.

But by the third or fourth round, Canelo was finding success in cutting off the ring, and that eventually spelled doom for Khan, who found escaping those wild punches more and more difficult.

"Like I said from the beginning, I knew (Khan) was very fast and knew it would be competitive in the beginning," Canelo said. "But I knew time would come to my favor, and you saw that.

"Many people focus on my power and talk to my power but I have many more qualities in the ring. I like to surprise everyone."

Khan's edge in speed was evident early as he connected with the first big punch of the fight, a big right hand that caught Canelo flush on the jaw, but never fazed the champion. Khan said this week he didn't think he could hurt Alvarez, and in the end, he didn't.

Khan had been trolling unsuccessfully for a fight against Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao over the last year to 18 months. And when he was offered the fight against the bigger Canelo, he jumped at it. He was guaranteed $2 million for his night's work, and stood to make a lot more off of pay-per-view revenue, as did Canelo, who was guaranteed $3.5 million.

So what's next for the fearless British warrior?

"I'm a natural 147-pounder and this challenge came and it was hard to turn down," Khan said. "My natural weight is 147 and I will probably go back down to that."

(Photo above by Joshua Dahl, Paste BN Sports)