Khan jumps up eight pounds in weight to take on the formidable Mexican and Hunter is confident the former super lightweight king still has all his assets in place and just needs to be focused on the task at hand.
“Amir’s disciplined and I can keep him disciplined. But if he doesn’t have the discipline and focus now, he’ll never have it, but I believe it’s there, and I think it’s very intact,” said Hunter.
“He understands what he needs to do, when he needs to do it and he also understands the danger (Canelo possesses). He also understands how to win this fight.
“(In regards to his) speed, that has not been compromised at all, and I know it’s a lot of photos out there, outlets or public, make your own determination, weigh‑in or during the fight, but he has not lost an iota of speed.
“When you’re gifted with it like he is, you’ll grow with it. It’s no different than LeBron James being in high school touching the white square at 190, and he still can do it at 230. It’s really not that much different than a sprinter, Bo Jackson running a 9.1 in the 200 and still doing it at 225. No, his speed hasn’t been compromised at all.”
On the differences between the two fighters, which have been much publicised in the build-up, Hunter added: “Look, I’d like to give each one their own identity. They’re one of a kind. I would probably have to search high and low to get a close comparison, so to speak. But there is a time in an athlete’s career if they’re gifted that they should be able to stand alone in their own aura, and I give both of these gladiators that respect.
“It’s just going to be a great fight, I believe, and I believe that he has a fight in him that hasn’t come out yet, like all fighters when they get around 29 to 30 if they’re winners.
“They can just bring a fight out, bring it up, and I believe that that fight is in him somewhere, and I expect to see the fight come up that night because of all the elements. It should, and it will. If it’s ever going to come up, it’ll come up May 7th.”
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