Roach: Khan ahead of Pacquiao -- Yahoo! Sports

Reuters

Britain's WBA light-welterweight champion Amir Khan is a superior boxer at 24 than Filipino Manny Pacquiao was at the same age, according to trainer Freddie Roach who works with both fighters.

Khan, like Pacquiao, is a southpaw renowned for his speed and hard work ethic and Roach firmly believes he will emulate the Filipino by becoming the sport's best pound-for-pound fighter within the next two years.

"Amir is little bit more ahead of Manny," the bespectacled Roach told Reuters at his Wild Card Boxing Club. "It took Manny Pacquiao eight years to get to the point where he became unbeatable and he has dominated every fight.

"Amir has been with me for just three years now and he's getting closer and closer.

"He will become the pound-for-pound king within a couple of years. He is well ahead of schedule and a big win here against Zab (Judah) would be another step towards Manny's record."

Khan, who has a career record of 25-1 with 17 knockouts, is scheduled to take on experienced American IBF holder Zab Judah in a unification fight in Las Vegas on July 23.

While the 33-year-old Judah is a highly respected figure in boxing, Roach is confident Khan will triumph in style at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino - and probably inside the 12 scheduled rounds.

"Zab will need to be at his best to survive in this one," said Roach, who has worked with 31 world champions in his Wild Card gym on the outskirts of downtown Los Angeles.

"I am very confident in my guy. We are ready to fight, we know when and where to attack this guy and how to attack him. We will win and walk away.

"I do not see this fight going the distance. We will overwhelm him with our speed and power, and I think Zab doesn't really take to getting hit like he once did."

Khan agreed that a knockout was likely, but he was wary of making any iron-clad prediction.

"I really think I will get a knockout in this fight but I never go into a fight looking for a knockout because that's when you start making mistakes," the Englishman told Reuters before beginning a training session in the ring with Roach.

"I'm going to go in there boxing and if the knockout comes it comes. But we are ready for the full 12-round distance. We have worked very hard for this fight and we know that we've got a good game plan that I'm going to be following."

Khan, who won the WBA title against Andreas Kotelnik of Ukraine two years ago, readily admits he would never have made such quick progress in his boxing career without the influence of Roach and 10-times world champion Pacquiao.

"They've brought the best out of me," he said. "Mentally they have made me a better fighter by thinking about what I need to do and sticking to a game plan whereas before I just used to go in there and fight with my heart.

"We know we've got the heart to go in there and fight with anyone but we need to have the game plan and I need to have the mental strength to stick to that game plan."

Asked what had been his greatest lesson from Pacquiao, Bolton-born Khan replied: "It's just good to be in the same camp as him. I work with him and I see what he does and, in a way, I just follow his customs.

"Manny is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and if I can even spar with him and do well against him that's a great confidence boost for me.

"He's so down-to-earth and he loves to help me. Just a few words from Manny is a big thing for me. We've become friends now. I'm 24 and I've been training with Manny since I was 22.

It's a great experience and you can't buy that experience."

Khan, a former Olympic silver medallist, has clear-cut goals well beyond his July 23 showdown with Judah.

"Later this year, I am hoping to fight Erik Morales," he said. "That would be a big fight for me. He's a big name over here in the States.

"From there, maybe I will move up to 147 (pounds) and try to take on Floyd Mayweather. That's what we are looking at. You need to have ambitions and my main goal is to fight for the pound-for-pound title.

"I've still got a long, long way to go and I am learning every day and in every fight. But I am getting there slowly."

Source: uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Burns $100 Bill at Atlanta Club -- NowPublic

NowPublic.com

Floyd Mayweather Burns $100 Bill: That's a Crime

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has money to burn, and he proved it by torching a $100 bill at the Velvet Room nightclub in Atlanta over the weekend.

Burning currency is illegal in the US: Floyd Mayweather Jr. faces an investigation by the Secret Service, which is tasked with enforcing that particular law. However, the WBC Super Welterweight Champion shouldn't be too worried.

Since the fine for burning money is only $100 (funnily enough), it's exceedingly unlikely that action will be taken against Mayweather. Still, it's sort of a chump move to burn money in the middle of a recession. After all, $100 could buy maybe four drinks for random strangers at a high-end club.

Perhaps Mayweather should be more worried about Manny Pacquiao, who could ruin his unbeaten record, but that fight is not looking likely anytime soon. Floyd Mayweather faces Victor Ortiz on September 17.

Source: nowpublic.com

Amir Khan's ultimate aim is to beat Floyd Mayweather Jnr to become world’s No 1 pound-for-pound boxer -- Telegraph

The Telegraph

World Boxing Association light-welterweight champion Khan, who is preparing for a unification contest with International Boxing Federation champion Zab Judah in Las Vegas a week on Saturday, would not even rule out a contest with stablemate Manny Pacquiao as the 24-year-old Boltonian came clean about his career wish list.

Khan, who insisted he was “not looking past Judah”, who he ranks as a “tough, awkward and dangerous opponent”, explained that there were plans in place for a contest with Mayweather in the division above.

Khan said: “I think within 12 months the Mayweather fight will happen. It is three fights away. If I beat Zab Judah and then have one more contest at 140lbs [light-welterweight] I will then move up to welterweight where I will carry my power. The cut in weight is affecting my power at the moment.”

The plan for Khan is to move forward should he beat Judah, and then fight Mexican legend Erik Morales in November before moving to welterweight and fighting emerging British star Kell Brook at welterweight, in the UK.

The prospect of Khan facing Mayweather at this juncture in his career still suggests a potential mismatch in spite of the Boltonian’s fast hands, but Khan went further: “Mayweather often talks about wanting to fight in the UK and it would be great if he came over here to fight in the summer around the time of the Olympics.”

Source: telegraph.co.uk

Manny Pacquiao: DOOMSDAY FOR BOXING -- Ringside Report

By Geno McGahee, Ringside Report

There have been two huge disappointments as of late in boxing, but it keeps going from bad to worse it seems. The super fight between Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye became a “I won’t hit you if you don’t hit me” survival game, and Paul “The Punisher” Williams was awarded a terrible gift decision over Erislandy Lara. It was highway robbery on HBO, live for the world to see.

Making matters worse is the idea of a “Super Champion.” There is no more “Undisputed Heavyweight champion.” We now have super champions and regular champions and the WBA has now pitted Teddy Atlas heavyweight, Alexander Povetkin against Ruslan Chagaev for the WBA “regular” heavyweight title. I feel this string of profanity coming on…

Why the @#$#$ do we need five dozen heavyweight champions? It’s incredibly frustrating as a boxing fan for the sanctioning bodies to create these distinctions, further muddling the division. It is said that where the heavyweight division goes, so too goes boxing, and if that is the case, it’s dead.

What saves boxing? Manny Pacquiao is the name that comes up typically, but he’s got over fifty fights, and he’s in the tail stretch of his career. So many boxing publications have sailed on his ship for years, because he is the only one that can sell a magazine or attract fans. Pacquiao is a great fighter, but he’s taking on Juan Manuel Marquez in November and then may or may not take on Floyd Mayweather, JR., next, if he gets beyond Victor Ortiz, and then the show is most likely over. Pacquiao cannot fight forever, and boxing will lose its biggest draw when he retires.

The Philippines has invested a lot of stock in Manny Pacquiao. He is a national hero, a man that proves that you can escape poverty and make it to the top of the world. Despite his money and celebrity status, he has kept his feet on the ground and remained true to his roots. He’s got that “it” factor, and he even sells music CDs and makes movies. Pacquiao, although not a good singer by any stretch of the imagination, is not the worst boxer turned musical act. Larry Holmes and Roy Jones, JR., get that nod.

When Manny says the words: “I retire from boxing,” where does the sport go? Floyd Mayweather, JR., if he continues to fight, it might be once a year and won’t be for much longer, and no other fighter has the draw of a Pacquiao. There’s not even a close second, with the exception of Floyd.

This is why the David Haye – Klitschko fight meant so much. Haye had some of the ingredients needed to save the sport. He was cocky, charismatic, and had a great mixture of speed and power. He was just terrified of Wlad and never chanced winning. He just eagerly awaited the final bell. It was terrible.

There are plenty of decent fighters, but they have not made it to PPV headliner status, yet. Sergio Martinez is a great fighter and so is Amir Khan, but neither can merit their own PPV, unless they are fighting Floyd or Manny. Yuriorkis Gamboa is a star on the rise, but he is years away from PPV headlining status. The Klitschkos can’t give their fights away in the states, and there are no challengers that are earning the public’s attention.

Some are pointing to another Filipino fighter as the next big thing in boxing. Nonito Donaire has been a very impressive fighter with great power and could be a breakout star, but it is highly unlikely that he would reach the status of Manny Pacquiao and capture the public’s attention as he has. He doesn’t have the access to the fighters that Pacquiao had to get that attention.

Manny beat Oscar De La Hoya, one of the biggest names of all time, Ricky Hatton, a British national hero, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, two Mexican fighters with huge followings, and Miguel Cotto, the biggest name in Puerto Rico. He has fought in a way that he has earned the respect and admiration from the fans of those he has left in a mangled heap. Donaire doesn’t have a list like that to work off of. So, I don’t foresee him coming close to the popularity of the PacMan.

Boxing needs a reboot. They reboot every movie in Hollywood, why not do the same to the sport that badly needs it? ABC needs to bring back its coverage of the sport and so does every other network. The USA network shows typically garbage. Why not dust off Tuesday Night Fights? Give it the reboot! If boxing is to return, the marketing and coverage must get better. You don’t see the UFC struggling. They have organization and great coverage. Boxing gets strictly bad press it seems.

Get ready boxing fans. Manny Pacquiao doesn’t have much time left in the sport. We should begin planning in advance.

Source: ringsidereport.com