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Khan v Alexander: The Panel tells us which Vegas fight from over the years still stands out...

Watching or working, Vegas still brings the best out of boxing

Marco Antonio Barrear v Erik Morales
Image: Marco Antonio Barrera v Erik Morales

Amir Khan is fighting in Las Vegas for the fifth time but we asked our own five, The Panel, which nights there still stand in the memory.

We are at the MGM and you all think Amir Khan will entertain, but which one of those special Vegas nights still stands out?

Live Fight Night

Glenn McCrory: I know exactly what, when and where - Marco Antonio Barerra v Erik Morales at the MGM Grand in June 2002. That was my favourite Vegas fight and my favourite fight ever. It was incredible. I was out there covering it for Sky Sports yet it was pretty much a small fight, the first one, and their rivalry hadn't really kicked off... until then! And the fight itself did just that. It was amazing to watch and honestly, I had to pinch myself. I had been there, seen it, done it as fighter and a commentator. I'd sparred with Mike Tyson, so I thought I'd seen it all and it was hard to get me really excited about a fight. But the way those two went at it, the way it went at back and forth and how it just kept going, was something else. It was difficult to put it into words, it was that special.

Jose Luis Castillo v Diego Corrales
Image: Jose Luis Castillo v Diego Corrales

Jim Watt: It's hard to pick one out but there isn't much better than the first fight between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo. That was nearly 10 years ago but it still stands out. I remember people likening it to Hearns-Hagler but I always thoght it was actually better than that. Hearns-Hagler wasn't as long and we had an idea, pretty early, who was going to win but with Corrales-Castillo, you did not have a clue. And if you did, you were probably wrong! The Corrales knockdown and that gumshield fiasco was bad enough but the way it finished? It was like something out of Hollywood.

It was great and some experience to be in Vegas for fight week. It was spot-on.
Paul Smith

Paul Smith: It has to be Hatton-Urango, because I carried Ricky's flag in. It was great and some experience to be in Vegas for fight week. It was spot-on. I couldn't get back out there because, for the Mayweather bout, I was fighting over here that night. But for the Urango fight, being around Ricky all week, seeing what it was like doing these big-time fights and weigh-ins was just brilliant. Being part of the team was good enough and of course got me hoping I could go back there to fight. All of Ricky's fights were great but to spend a week out there in Vegas was something else.

Ricky Hatton
Image: Ricky Hatton: was out in Vegas flying the flag for the first time, but who was just behind him?

Johnny Nelson: Of course, it would be Ricky Hatton bringing so many fans over there. The Americans didn’t know what hit them. That always makes me chuckle because the best boxing crowds are British. They support you big-time. There was something about Ricky, he was the boy next door. He lived that life, and that’s why the people loved him. That worked for Ricky, it wouldn’t work for Amir. Also, in wider US terms, I would pick when Naseem Hamed boxed Kevin Kelley at the Garden in New York. That was a brilliant atmosphere, and I was emotionally involved.

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Jamie Moore: It has to be when Evander Holyfield beat Mike Tyson for the first time at the MGM Grand in 1996. It was such a shock, such... a... shock! I remember sitting up to watch it on Sky and sat there rubbing my eyes, sitting there with my mouth wide open wondering what I was watching! We all thought Holyfield was at risk of picking up serious injury going in with Tyson yet there he was pulling off a fantastic win! It was almost 20 years ago - and that is even scarier!

Watch Amir Khan v Devon Alexander, live on Sky Sports 1, from 2.00am on Sunday morning.

Evander Holyfield Mike Tyson
Image: Evander Holyfield: stunned the world by beating Mike Tyson in their first fight