Former 140 pound champ Amir Khan has sparred Manny Pacquiao quite a bit, and he has also sparred with Mario Barrios. As such, Khan is qualified to give us a pretty informative take on what he thinks will happen when the 46 year old and the 30 year old fight on July 19. And what Khan had to say about the WBC welterweight title fight and its outcome might come as quite a shock to some people.
With so many experts and fellow fighters openly concerned for Pacquiao and his health going into the Barrios fight, with many saying the fight shouldn’t be happening, Khan has a wholly different view, with him saying the Barrios fight is “perfect for Manny Pacquiao.”
Khan, speaking with IFL TV, said that “even with half a hard camp,” Pacquiao can win the fight.
“He’s not dangerous enough for someone like Manny Pacquiao”
“You know, the fight with Barrios, you know, if you look at boxing, what a perfect matchup that is for Manny Pacquiao,” Khan said. “Look, I sparred Barrios, I’ve trained with Barrios. A very good fighter, a very good boxer. He’s not dangerous enough for someone like Manny Pacquiao. He’s not a hard, hard fight. He’s basic but he’s good at his basic stuff. Since then he’s come on a lot. And I like him as a person. For Manny, I think it’s a great fight. And is a fight that’s winnable even if he’s had like half a hard camp. And if Manny wins, does that put me in the line to fight him? I’m not sure. I would like it, it would definitely give me that drive.”
Could Khan finally land his dream fight with Pacquiao?
So, Khan is picking his old spar-mate to pull it off in July, and it seems as though it won’t come as anything like a shock to Khan if Pacquiao does dethrone Barrios. Interesting. Khan doesn’t see any of the dangers that so many other people see going into this fight.
Is Khan right, will Manny win, and win in great style? And if so, could Khan get a fight with Pacquiao, this something the Bolton man always badly wanted back in the day?
“Imagine coming back and becoming world champion again! It can happen, it’s just crazy how life works,” Khan said.
