Everyone expected Mexican boxing superstar Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez to knock out Amir Khan at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
What many did not expect was Khan to be so effective in the early exchanges: The 29-year-old outboxed Canelo for large spells in the opening three rounds, and may have even led 30-27.
From there, Canelo's thudding right hands to Khan's body seemed to sap the plucky Brit, who had climbed from 147 pounds to 155 - a step too far in this instance, as it would transpire in violent circumstances.
Canelo's power is legit, and the 25-year-old began to set traps at the turn of the fight as he grew in confidence and began to impose his will on the fight.
And then, in the middle of round 6, it was over. Just like that. A right hand from Canelo that, had it been in the possession of the North Koreans, would have caused mass panic on a global scale.
@Canelo defeats @amirkingkhan, well... almost killed him with this punch#boxing #boxeo #boxingnews #CaneloKhan pic.twitter.com/aotcpMUB6Q
— TheSweetScience (@TSSboxingnews) May 8, 2016
To the Mexican's credit, he was immediately concerned for Khan's well-being, kneeling by his fallen foe; Canelo, of course, more than anyone - especially Khan - was aware of the force with which he had delivered the coup de grâce on the Brit's middleweight title aspirations.
Khan duly recovered and, in truth, should feel no shame in defeat to his much larger adversary. He entered the ring today like Don Quixote, always destined to fail but at least displaying the balls to take on a seemingly unconquerable challenge.
He also takes home close to $13m for the fight so, you know, swings and roundabouts.
Im okay everyone 😃 thats boxing for you, congrats to @Canelo monster punch, much love to all the fans! #CaneloKhan pic.twitter.com/oQcqZQrsLl
— Amir Khan (@amirkingkhan) May 8, 2016
And before you call Khan 'chinny', just know that Canelo has done this to other, larger opponents...
