Amir Khan vs Saul Alvarez, Anthony Crolla vs Ismael Barroso, Dereck Chisora vs Pulev – boxing on TV this weekend

Quite simply a thrilling night of boxing awaits to keep you glued to the screen

James Orr
Saturday 07 May 2016 14:09 BST
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Saul Alvarez and Amir Khan fight for the WBC middleweight title in Las Vegas tonight
Saul Alvarez and Amir Khan fight for the WBC middleweight title in Las Vegas tonight (Getty)

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Kubrat Pulev vs Dereck Chisora

(from 7.30pm, Sky Sports 2)

Chisora was struck by a plastic bottle from a spectator in the crowd during the heated weigh-in on Friday, and hunted down the offender in the crowd afterwards in dramatic scenes.

‘Del Boy’, who has won his last five fights since his one-sided beating by current WBA and WBO champion Tyson Fury, will need to be firing on all cylinders to defeat European heavyweight champion Pulev, whose only professional defeat came at the fists of the now disposed former heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko in 2014. Can ‘Del Boy’ show bottle of his own to beat Pulev in Hamburg?

Anthony Crolla vs Ismael Barroso

(from 7.30pm, Sky Sports 2)

Then later on the same channel, but in a different country, Manchester’s Crolla makes the first defence of his WBA lightweight title against undefeated knock-out artist Barroso, who put on such a comprehensive performance against Kevin Mitchell back in December. It turned out to be the final fight of Mitchell’s career, who hung up his gloves soon afterwards.

Anthony Crolla defeats Darleys Perez with a devastating body shot (Getty)
Anthony Crolla defeats Darleys Perez with a devastating body shot (Getty) (Getty Images)

Not that any of this will faze Crolla as he fights in his hometown tonight, he seems to relish the tag of the underdog, and will only be buoyed by his last fight – the marvellous fifth-round stoppage of Darleys Perez to win the title.

Saul Alvarez vs Amir Khan

(from 1.30am, Boxnation)

Hopefully the earlier card will have whetted your appetite for what can only be described as one of, if not the, biggest fight of this year as Khan steps up two weight divisions to challenge the Mexican monster Alvarez for his WBC middleweight title.

Amir Khan poses after weighing in for his bout with Saul Alvarez
Amir Khan poses after weighing in for his bout with Saul Alvarez (Getty)

Khan has already described it as biggest test of his career and one that will define his legacy. He goes into the bout with odds as long as 4-1 to win, but with the explosive power he possesses it would certainly be wrong to dismiss his chances.

Alvarez, affectionately known as ‘Canelo’, owing to his red hair, has lost just once in his career, to the unbeatable speed merchant Floyd Mayweather.

Can Khan follow the blueprint set by Mayweather to beat Alvarez? All eyes will be fixed on the brand new T-Mobile Arena in the early hours of Sunday morning. It will not be one to miss.

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