Freddie Roach is backing Amir Khan to finish his First Defence early.
The legendary trainer has called Manny Pacquiao's last three fights perfectly and is already making predictions as his British charge prepares to take on Dmitriy Salita, live on Sky Box Office.
Khan went the distance when winning the WBA light-welterweight title against Andriy Kotelnik in July, but has stopped 15 of his 21 victims inside the distance.
And Roach, who called Pacquiao's victories over Ricky Hatton and Oscar de la Hoya to the very round and was not far wrong with Miguel Cotto, is confident he will make it a sweet 16 on December 5.
"Obviously he's the No 1 challenger, but I think Amir will get him out of there somewhere along the way," he told skysports.com.
"Salita came to train in my gym in Los Angeles a while back - he and his rabbi popped along. He's a good technical boxer, but nothing spectacular.
"He's a good solid fighter, does the fundamentals OK, but Amir's speed will be too much for him.
"Salita's tough guy and a boxer but I think Amir's a better fighter and a better puncher and we're going to break him down and hopefully get him out of there in the late rounds. It will be a tough fight, but we'll soften him up in the end."
Roach and Khan arrived in England on Saturday morning to finalise preparations for the Newcastle showdown.
They will continue to spar up to as late as the Monday before the fight, but the trainer says is that ferocious preparation that makes the 22-year-old such a firm favourite.
Khan has been sparring with Pacquiao in Los Angeles - where Roach has been offering sparring partners $1,000 dollars if they can floor his fighters - and gives as good as he gets.
"Amir needs a little more maturing but for the first four rounds, it's always about even," said Roach.
"Manny will take over after that because he has a bit more experience. He's been with us just over a year and he always works his ass off. In my gym, this ain't for fun. It ain't easy, all my guys work hard, I don't have time for lazy people.
"I always offer a bet to my sparring partners if they can knock my fighters down - and my money's still in my pocket!
"Amir is faster than when we first got him because he's lost a lot of that muscle mass. He's a lot leaner now and when him and Manny Pacquiao spar, they really go at it because they both have speed and power."
Source: skysports.com
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