By Lem Satterfield
In one of their final sparring sessions prior to leaving the Philippines, Freddie Roach gave WBA 140-pound champion Amir Khan the clear edge over Manny Pacquiao, the WBO welterweight champion. Roach is training both fighters for their upcoming bouts. Pacquiao moves up to junior middleweight to face Antonio Margarito for the vacant WBC 154-pound title at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Khan defends his title against mandatory interim-champion Marcos Maidana at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on December 11.
"I thought Amir looked great, he punched the sh*t out of Manny," Roach told FanHouse, when asked about how Khan looked in sparring with Pacquiao.
On the other hand, Khan believes Pacquiao may have gone easy on him, at least on that particular day.
"I think Manny may have taken it easy on me. We trained hard together. It was great sparring. I had to do really well against him, just to see where I am. It's a great inspiration and it's an honor to be in the same ring as him," Khan said.
Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.
