Opinion: What if Khan Beats ‘Canelo?’

For months, the boxing world has been focused on a potential future meeting between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin.

Golovkin last month kept up his momentum with yet another decimation of an overmatched opponent, this time knocking out Dominic Wade in two rounds. If Alvarez does as he is expected on Saturday and puts away Amir Khan, then the public demand for the two to clash this fall will only get louder.

But what happens if Khan beats Canelo?

It’s a scenario most fans and pundits haven’t even considered. The majority of boxing media find this fight to be an exhibition of sorts, a chance for Alvarez to pound out the undersized Khan and add another name to his résumé. But it’s not outside the realm of possibility that Khan could pull off the upset. While it would be a major shock to the boxing world, the effects would ripple outside of just these two fighters.

First of all, Khan would become the WBC, Ring and lineal middleweight titleholder. To put that in perspective, a guy who campaigns at 147 pounds could capture the world titles at 160 pounds while facing an opponent at 155 pounds. It’s just as ridiculous to write as it is for you to read.

What the hell would Khan do as middleweight champion? Would he then be expected to fight Golovkin? Absolutely not, unless he is looking to cash out. Chances are that he would relinquish those world titles and attempt to go back down for a title fight at 147 pounds. Perhaps he would try to lure either Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao out of their respective “retirements” for a big-money bout. After all, Khan chased fights with both superstars for several years and was unable to get either man into the ring. Toppling boxing’s current pay-per-view star would certainly help his case in the event that Mayweather goes looking for win No. 50 or Pacquiao wants to prove he’s still got it.

Khan would have plenty of options. He could try to land a fight with Miguel Cotto, which would be pretty big in its own right. He could venture overseas for a clash against fellow British boxer Kell Brook. The offers for fights would be overwhelming.

As for Alvarez, his stock would take an incredible hit, and he would lose any leverage he had in facing Golovkin. The highly anticipated fight with GGG would go up in smoke, and it would be interesting to see what Alvarez were to do next. Would he try to get a rematch with Cotto? Would he campaign as a junior middleweight and look to climb the ladder against one of the Charlo brothers, or in a rematch with Erislandy Lara? Or would he finally make the jump to middleweight and work his way toward a Golovkin fight, despite no longer being the A-side of that matchup?

Golovkin’s future would also be in question. He would likely end up with the WBC title, because Khan shouldn’t be interested in defending it against a man of Golovkin’s size. But without a marquee name to put on his résumé, would GGG simply go back to wrecking the rest of the division and eventually unifying the titles? While that all sounds great, the public demand for Golovkin to fight a big name would grow increasingly loud, as the 160-pound division is devoid of recognizable fighters. Perhaps he would try to land fights with Daniel Jacobs and Billy Joe Saunders, but would Golovkin test the waters at 168 pounds and look to unify the belts there? Boxing’s boogieman will certainly receive criticism no matter what he does until he can put a major name on his portfolio -- but who’s going to fight him?

The boxing world often finds itself matchmaking too early, only to have its plans thwarted by a sport in which one punch can change everything. It’s the nature of the beast. The notion that Alvarez will roll over Khan is already so widely accepted that people are beating the drum for Canelo-Golovkin.

If Khan pulls off the upset, everything will be a mess -- but that’s what makes boxing fun, right?

Andreas Hale is the editorial content director of 2DopeBoyz.com, co-host of the boxing, MMA and pro wrestling podcast “The Corner” and a regular columnist for Sherdog.com. You can follow on Twitter for his random yet educated thoughts on combat sports, music, film and popular culture.