By Edward Chaykovsky
Former heavyweight champion Chris Byrd, who now trains boxers, gave his take on the potential fight between former sparring partners Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan.
Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum promotes Pacquiao and he's very interested in making the fight in the first quarter of 2016
The two fighters were sparring partners and good friends when they shared Freddie Roach as trainer. Khan left Roach in 2012 and hired Virgil Hunter.
They share a recent mutual opponent in Chris Algieri. Pacquiao dominated Algieri last year and dropped him six times during the contest. Algieri did a lot better with Khan in May, but still lost a twelve round decision.
"Both guys are fast but Manny finds a way to let his combinations go and cuts the distance. Manny is a small guy, a short guy that knows how to cut the distance by being in the lefty stance and the awkwardness of his style as he’s coming forward. He throws punches in bunches and he’ll get to you, no matter the size, and he’s very effective at doing it," Byrd told On The Ropes Boxing Radio.
If Pacquiao is able to cut off the ring with Khan as he did with Algieri, then Byrd could see the eight division world champion doing a real number on Khan.
"With Amir Khan, to slow Manny down, you gotta ride off that back foot. You gotta make Manny reach and run into things, use your height and reach to your advantage. That’s the thing when Manny fought Chris Algieri, Algieri is very tall but Manny got to him too easy, and it’s the same with Amir Khan. Amir’s got a little bit more power than Chris Algieri, but at the same time, he’s similar in boxing skills. If Manny can get to him like he did with Chris Algieri, he’s gonna really get to him," Byrd said.
