Canelo Khan Promo Tecate from Golden Boy Digital on Vimeo.

The boxing world was rocked with the surprise announcement that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 knockouts) would be facing Amir “King” Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) for Canelo’s RING and WBC middleweight titles on May 7 at the brand new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Social media was set on fire with some praising the announcement and others tearing it to shreds. Now that the dust has settled a little bit, let’s take a look at who came away the biggest winner and who ended up being the biggest loser out of this entire ordeal.

The Biggest Winner: Amir Khan

King Khan is in a no-lose situation here. After being shoved aside by both Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, the Brit will get his chance against boxing’s new star in Canelo. Yes, the weight discrepancy is something to be monitored, but Khan is going to be paid handsomely for his effort. The primary reason he ended up with this fight is because he brings name recognition to the table. And that goes a long way for Khan. For a guy who was concerned with being the B-side against either Kell Brook or Danny Garcia, he’ll have no qualms being the B-side against Canelo because, regardless of what happens short of being flattened in the first round, Khan will come out with more clout that he can use as a bargaining chip against anyone in the 147-pound division. Nobody expects Khan to win and considering that Khan isn’t protecting an unbeaten record, a loss won’t hurt him. But let’s just say that if Khan somehow manages to defy the odds and beat Alvarez, the sky is the limit. Unless that limit is at 160 pounds. Which brings us toÔǪ

The Biggest Loser: Gennady Golovkin

If you’re Gennady Golovkin and you hear that the guy who refuses to face you at 160 pounds is taking an interim fight against a guy who campaigned at 147 pounds in a catchweight bout, what must you be thinking? Canelo is going to get a high-profile fight on PPV against an opponent that brings name recognition and not too much else while GGG is still looking for an opponent that is worth talking about. With Canelo fighting a smaller man at a catchweight, there’s no vote of confidence that Canelo has any plans of facing him at the middleweight limit. And with Canelo landing the bigger fight, the leverage may be on his side when it comes to negotiating. And let’s just say that Khan wins to become the RING, WBC and lineal middleweight champion. Does anybody think that Khan will fight GGG in a unification bout at 160? We don’t either.

The Biggest Question Mark: Canelo Alvarez

In some circles, Canelo is a winner because he landed a fight against a name that will draw viewers. In others, he’s being fricasseed because he’s taking on a guy who he’ll have a considerable size advantage against. Remember how gigantic Canelo looked against Miguel Cotto last November? Well, the size discrepancy will be magnified when these two step in the ring on fight night. Add that to the fact that Khan doesn’t quite possess the sturdiest of chins and you have reason to believe that Canelo plucked the best fruit off the tree to squash. And it’s also difficult to believe that Canelo has any interest in facing GGG at 160 pounds. Some might say he’d be wise to face an opponent that is a true middleweight before facing a man who has flattened his last 21 opponents. Not an undersized guy who was rocked by Chris Algieri. But if you’re Canelo, do you care? As long as you are winning fights against names that the casual fan recognizes, you have all the leverage. This is simply good business for Alvarez. And if GGG wants to earn a nice paycheck, he’s going to have to relent to Canelo’s demands.