Bang.

May 7, Canelo – oh, did you not get the memo? He’s just “Canelo” now; his stardom is at the “single name is sufficient” stage – vs. Amir Khan…

This dropped out of nowhere, like a rich great uncle you never knew you had passing away and leaving you a mini nest egg.

Or, when you heard this news put out by Golden Boy Promotions, was it more like the feeling you get when you are enjoying surf in your sights and sand under your feet and a seagull drops a deposit which splats on your shoulder? Depends on who you ask and, I think, the regard you have for Amir Khan.

Let’s delve into some quick hits on the surprise showdown of the year; shall we?

1) Nowhere, man: Yeah, didn’t see this one coming. It came out of nowhere…Heard someone smart saying the other day that he thought Gabriel Rosado would next get the nod for Canelo. No Gabe, babe; instead, Amir Khan got the gig. This industry is Leak Central, with the schedule being made up as we go. Possible fights and negotiations and trial balloons and call-outs and the like are an everyday, all-day element of boxing coverage. But the last time a super-fight was presented for your perusal with zero warning was…Hell, the eleventeenth of Neveruary?!

2) All due respect: Massive points go to Golden Boy and Canelo for doing this out-of-left-field event. I have gone on record regarding the sport not doing enough outside-the-box stuff but this…this is that. Congrats to those involved for being imaginative.

3) Weight, weight, don’t tell me: One of the reasons we don’t see more imaginative matchmaking is because of weight classes. Roy Jones Jr. doing weights and buffets to make heavyweight is a rarity – and for good reason. But maybe more of us should have seen this as a possible thing. After all, Khan started at 147 in May 2014 and the leap from 147 to 155, after almost two years, isn’t exactly straight out of Crazy Town. He’s 5-foot-8 1/2; Canelo is 5-foot-9, and have you seen that recent pic of them posing together, looking similar in build? This doesn’t look like a size mismatch, doing an eyeball test.

4) Suicide prevention: Not sure if they are more are motivated by their desire to not see Khan splayed out stiff as a mummy or they don’t care for him and are influenced by that and thus mock his skill set…but there is no shortage of Twitterati saying that this isn’t a face-off; it’s a kamikaze mission. Yeah, I read one dude call this a suicide pact from Khan. I guess time will have to be the ultimate arbiter here but I think Khan’s chin woes truly are a thing of the past. He has a better handle on defending, with Virgil Hunter nullification tactics at the ready, so I think the Khan Team knows what they are in for and wouldn’t enter into a mismatch just for an outsized payday. I say, let us trust the fighter to know his body and assume he will survive and maybe even thrive. But I hedge, one major industry name texted me, “This is murder!” when he learned of #Khanelo. Time tells.

5) Bipolarity hilarity: Fans are funny folks. You get fans hammering a guy for taking soft touches…and then they hammer the same fella for biting off more than he can chew. Not taking enough risk…then being foolhardy…Tough crowd out there these days. Everyone’s an expert…or maybe all the experts just cluster to Twitter.

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