By James Slater: It’s been a long time since ace trainer Freddie Roach has gotten it wrong to the point where one of his fighters has wound up losing a major bout, and the trainer of, amongst others, Amir Khan and Manny Pacquiao, is feeling extremely confident going in to the July 23rd bout between Khan and IBF 140-pound king Zab Judah.
Speaking with Reuters recently, whilst inside the Wild Card gym he operates, Roach went as far as to say New York southpaw Judah will “have to be at his best to survive” in the rapidly-approaching unification match-up with the reigning WBA champion. Roach feels Khan’s blend of speed and power will “overwhelm” Zab, and Freddie also said he is doubtful the fight will go all 12-rounds.
It’s always interesting listening to what Roach, a true trainer of champions, has to say – and this interview is no different. Roach compared Khan at age 24 to Manny Pacquiao at the sane age, and guess what? Freddie says Khan is ahead of Manny at the same stage in their respective careers.
“Amir is a little bit more ahead of Manny,” Roach said yesterday. “It took Manny 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 Pound-for-Pound king in a couple of years. A big win here against Zab would be another step towards Manny’s record.”
And Roach is sure his 24-year-old will get a big win over “Super” Judah. But seeing how Khan has often said he will never face his good friend Pac-Man in the ring, how will “King Khan” become the P-4-P best in two years? By taking on and beating Floyd “Money” Mayweather, that’s how! And Khan, also speaking in L.A yesterday, confirmed that his plan is to face Erik Morales after he’s taken care of Judah – and then climb into the ring for his dream fight with Mayweather next year some time.
“Later this year, I am hoping to fight Erik Morales,” Khan 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 and try to take on Floyd Mayweather. That’s what we are looking at. You need to have ambition and my goal is the fight for the Pound-for-Pound title.”
All well and good, but isn’t Pac-Man the Pound-for-Pound king? In any case, Khan has to get past Zab before he can even think about facing the likes of “El Terrible,” let alone Mayweather. And, despite what Roach says, I see a very rough and tough fight for Khan on July 23rd. Khan appeared to me to struggle with the southpaw stance of Paul McCloskey last time out, and Judah hits a whole lot harder and is faster of hand than is the man from Northern Ireland. I think Khan will win a close points decision, but that he will have to overcome some tough spells and have to dig deep.
Then it could be on to the Mexican legend and then, maybe, the all-time great that is Floyd. I don’t know about you, though, but as much and as often as Khan has spoken about one day facing Mayweather, I’ve never once heard Floyd talk about his facing Khan! To use the phrase many fighters seem to use these days: is Khan even on Mayweather’s radar? Sure, Golden Boy CEO Schaefer says he has spoken to Floyd, and that he told him he is “definitely interested” in a Khan fight. But until I hear Floyd actually say this himself……….?