By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Talented British light welterweight Amir Khan predicts that Filipino boxing hero and current pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao will beat former pound-for-pound No.1 Floyd Mayweather Jr should they meet in what is expected to be a massive fight.
In an exclusive interview with BoxingScene.com, insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports, Khan said Pacquiao will beat Mayweather “with his speed and his work rate.”
The 22 year old who is training for his WBA light welterweight title fight against Andriy Kotelnik (31-2-1, 13 KO’s) at the O2 Arena which is also known as the Millenium Dome in Greenwich, London on June 27, had nothing but praise for Pacquiao.
Khan sparred with Pacquiao when the Filipino southpaw was preparing for his fight against Oscar De La Hoya whom he demolished in eight rounds and also learned from the Filipino hero how to beat Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera whom Pacquiao had defeated twice. Khan credited Pacquiao’s inspiration and help for his 5th round technical decision victory over Barrera.
Khan told us “Manny is such a nice guy. He helped me a lot. He shows his support for my career and is an inspiration”
Khan noted that Pacquiao is the pound for pound world champion and “ he pushes me in the gym when you spar with him. Obviously not many people get an opportunity to train with Manny and we are close friends I have a lot of respect for him. He really cares and supports me and helps me.”
Amir Khan said he has “ trained so hard for this fight which comes at the right time.” Khan said it will be his 22nd fight and he’s been a pro for 4 years adding “a world title fight would be a big, big step in my boxing career”
Conditioning expert Alex Ariza told us “Amir looks great. This kid is ready to fight Its like Manny after he fought Oscar De La Hoya. He had so much confidence when he stepped into the ring” against Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton.
Ariza noted Amir Khan is much the same after beating Barrera saying “ he’s got this whole different attitude.”
Ariza revealed that Khan “ dominates Rashad Holloway” the sparring partner of Pacquiao so much that trainer Freddie Roach had to get two new sparring partners including an African boxer with a 14-0 record. He said Holloway weighs 160 and “cannot deal with Amir.” Ariza said that when Khan spars Freddie “ puts him (Holloway) in last and he still can’t deal with him.”
