Trainer Freddie Roach doesn’t see a Top Rank – Golden Boy Promotions issue as getting in the way of a potential huge money matchup between Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan in the near future. Roach, who previously trained Khan, says he makes his own decisions about his career, and he thinks that a fight between him and Pacquiao is a definite possibility. Of course, none of this will mean anything if Pacquiao doesn’t win his next fight against WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley on April 12th, and if Khan doesn’t beat Luis Collazo in their fight on May 3rd.
“Khan’s responsible for his own actions,” Roach said to the Telegraph. “Never say never. I’m not so sure it would be in England, even though Manny loves the place. He would want a truck load of money to fight there. It would most likely be in the U.S, if it ever happened.”
Roach seems desperate for a fight for Pacquiao. He can’t get Floyd Mayweather Jr, so he’s now lowered his standards to Khan, even though he’s lost 2 out of his last 4 fights.
It would definitely occur in the United States, and it would likely happen after Khan has lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr, because that’s a fight that will likely take place later this year. They fed Collazo to Khan to give him a decent but hardly tough test, and if he passes that test then he’ll almost surely get the Mayweather fight. Once he loses to Mayweather, Khan might have to beat 1-2 welterweights of decent quality to get the Pacauiao fight. They’re not going to just agree to have Khan fight Pacquiao straightaway off of a loss to Mayweather, although it’s possible given Pacquiao’s history of fighting opposition coming off of a loss.
Brandon Rios and Joshua Clottey both were coming off of defeats when they fought Pacquiao, and Shane Mosley hadn’t won a fight in the previous two years before his fight with Pacquiao in 2011. However, if Top Rank wants to maximize revenue instead of just going for the quick score, they really need to wait until Khan has fought at least once following his loss to Mayweather in order to make boxing fans believe that the fight is worth paying to see. It wouldn’t look good for Pacquiao to be fighting a guy that was likely dominated by Mayweather.
Pacquiao would obviously destroy Khan in short order. Khan might do well for a couple of rounds, but once Pacquiao lands something clean, Khan will almost surely be knocked out. Fans will obviously feel ripped off, at least the fans who hadn’t studied Khan’s previous history. Hardcore fans will realize the fight is a mismatch and will watch just to see how long it takes for Pacquiao to knock Khan out.
