Monday 23 November 2009

Roach backs Khan to conquer weights

Irish Times

Freddie Roach says Amir Khan can do a Manny Pacquiao by moving up boxing's weight divisions. Pacquiao has won world titles in seven different divisions in an astonishing rise to the top of the P4P tree.

And while Khan may not be able to quite match that level of brilliance, trainer Roach says he has what it takes to star at more than one weight.

Amir currently holds the WBA light-welterweight title after beginning his professional career at lightweight.

And Roach said: "He has the body frame to move up for sure. 135 was okay, but 140 I like him better at. As he fills out and matures a little bit he'll definitely end up as a welterweight and maybe end up as a middleweight one day, I would say."

Khan is preparing for the first defence of that light-welterweight title against Dimitry Salita in Newcastle on December 5. And he says he's feeling better than ever.

"I'm improving every fight, getting better an better. We learned a lot from the Kotelnik fight," said Khan. "We've improved it so we're going to go into this fight not making the same mistakes we made in the Kotelnik fight.

"Every fight we go into, we're getting better and better. Freddie's a great trainer and he's always working on what I should do right and what I shouldn't do in a fight. Everything we do in the gym is done for a reason. I feel I'm a better fighter than when I fought Kotelnik.

"I'm looking forward to this - I think Salita has a similar style to Kotelnik - he's a good boxer. And that could help me in this fight."

Roach meanwhile believes if styles do indeed make fights, then the Geordie fans are in for a treat next month.

"It's gonna be a great fight. Salita is undefeated, he's hungry for a title shot. he's going to be at his best I'm sure," he said.

"Amir is training great, he's in great shape. We had a great training camp with great sparring partners. We're definitely ready for whatever he brings. I think Amir is going to shine in this one.

"I wouldn't miss this one - Amir is an action fighter and Salita comes to fight. It's going to be all-action as long as it lasts."

Source: irishtimes.com


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