Amir Khan is the only man to fight both Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford.
The former unified super-lightweight world champion stepped up to middleweight for a WBC title shot against Canelo back in May 2016, and despite a competitive start to the bout was then stopped in emphatic fashion as Alvarez claimed a brutal sixth round knockout win.
Three years later and at his more natural weight of 147lbs, Khan challenged Crawford for his WBO welterweight title, but it was a similar story, with the Bolton boxer dropped in the first round before ‘Bud’ claimed a sixth round TKO victory.
Canelo and Crawford look set to meet later this year in a highly-anticipated clash between two of the current pound-for-pound greats, but Khan says there is another man he fought who hits even harder.
Speaking on the AHAT Live Podcast, Khan revealed that Marcos Maidana was the most powerful fighter he has ever been in the ring with.
“Marcos Maidana. I beat him in 2010. That guy’s a beast. I cannot remember anything. The first round then next thing the fight was a blur, man. I only get to remember things when I watch the fight back on TV. What a fight that was. Exciting. You had speed, power, everything in there. He was very heavy-handed.
When he hits you, you feel it. It’s not one of them stinging shots. I’ve been put down with shots that haven’t hurt me, a flash knockdown, but with him he had that devastating power that would go through you. Even when he was next to you and hits you in the side of the ribs, you feel how heavy his hand is. So I have to say Maidana was the heaviest hitter.”
Khan beat Maidana by unanimous decision back in December 2010 to retain his WBA super-lightweight title, in a fight that many viewed as one of the best of the year.
Boxing fans will be hoping another Fight of the Year contender comes later this year when Canelo and Crawford meet, and former ‘Bud’ foe Errol Spence Jr has given his prediction for the bout.
