After his fine victory over Andreas Kotelnik on Saturday, new WBA light-welterweight champion Amir Khan gave pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao a fair amount of credit for his win. Not only had the 22-year-old sparred with "Pac-Man" ahead of his big fight, Khan was also given much encouragement by the Filipino legend. Now, wanting to make a first defence of his newly acquired world title, Khan may appear on the same card as Pacquiao when Manny fights Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas on November 14th. Khan will definitely be sparring with Pacquiao once again, as the southpaw dynamo gets ready for a tough night's work against the Puerto Rican favourite..
In speaking to The Bolton News, trainer of both men Freddie Roach spoke about how he only allows Pacquiao and Khan to spar together for a few rounds.
"[Manny and Amir] will be in there together as it is ideal preparation," Roach said. "They are both so fast it can be a real blur at times. But I only let them go at each other for four rounds. It is intense in there from the start and four rounds is enough."
Khan has always wanted to fight in America, and he very much hopes to make his debut there on the huge Pacquiao-Cotto bill in Vegas. First, though, Freddie has to pick an opponent for his newest world champion. Khan himself says he will fight whoever Frank Warren puts in front of him, but Roach has spoken about a couple of possible challengers.
"[Marcos Rene Maidana] has just beaten [Victor] Ortiz for free. Those two have just fought for little money," Roach said. "I would love that fight but not right now. Why not build that fight up? There are some big names out there. My job is to get him ready for fights and I'm not afraid of anybody out there."
According to the Bolton News article, Juan Manuel Marquez's name is also being "bandied" about as a possible opponent for Khan. However, unbeaten Dmitriy Salita is Khan's official WBA mandatory challenger, and within a maximum of nine months the Ukrainian must be accommodated. Could it be this fight that is made as part of the massively exciting Pacquiao-Cotto card?
Either way, and whoever Khan fights next he will be getting the best possible sparring with Pacquiao and the best possible training under Roach. Indeed, the 22-year-old is hoping he can go from strength to strength. Khan's US debut should attract a good deal of attention.
Source: eastsideboxing.com
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
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