Arum: Khan could be a November Option for Pacquiao

[generalbulldog]

Top Rank's CEO, Bob Arum, says there are several options for Manny Pacquiao's first defense of the reclaimed WBO welterweight title on November 8th in Macau. The number one option is a fifth fight with former four division champion Juan Manuel Marquez.

A good backup option is WBO junior welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov, who uses Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach. Since Arum is now on good terms with Golden Boy Promotions President, Oscar De La Hoya, a longshot possibility is British star Amir Khan, who used to be Pacquiao's stablemate under Roach.

Arum: Khan Could Be a November Option For Pacquiao - Boxing News

[Hulk]

If Arum is on good terms with Golden Boy then lets start seeing some cross promotional fights BEFORE Pacquaio fights next.

[imp]

Would be a good fight

[Gandalf]

I think Pacquiao would finally get another spectacular stoppage. He can match Khan for speed and I don't think Khan has the intelligence to keep him off for 12 rounds. Manny hasn't been stopping people, but this is Amir Khan. Khan needs to stay away from someone that fast who hits hard. It is obvious to see why Arum would let the frost melt for this one. I think Manny is on the slide, but that's how highly I rate Amir Khan.

[Beanflicker]

I think it's a tough fight for Manny and I give Khan a great chance of pulling off the upset.

I just don't see the same speed or power in Manny that he had a few years back.

[J_Undisputed]

The newer Khan we saw against Collazo definitely stands a better of beating the pacquiao that rematched bradley. His lateral movements smoother, still offensively fast, carries the weight better and reach becomes a factor. At the same time, Khans no defensive wiz and matching up their respective styles there is lots of opportunity for Pac to get some work done.
If mannys reflexes have slipped just enough, Khan can snipe him from the outside with one two's and fight the taller fight, then stay on the outside and make manny chase him around the ring. The good news for manny in that instance is that while the taller fighter has leverage on his punches, its not the type of marquez shot that turned the lights out. A likely scenario i see is, khan leading with that one, two from the outside and getting some work done. Then he starts getting drawn in again as he gets enamored with with his own offense again. Getting a little greedy, he tacks that hook onto the end bringing him into mannys range. Manny eats a jab, slips the straight/cross and counters khan on the inside before the hook lands, wobbling Khan and opening the flood gates. Whether Khan starts flailing on instinct to try and fight his way out or has been taught by Virgil to clinch and get on his bike and going into a shell along the ropes... Khans offense suffers at that and manny maybe still has enough in the tank to do what he did to margarito as a hesitation to commit slows down khans offense.

The big issue with khan is he is still a jouster. Hovering on the outside and darting in (albeit smoother now) and commits himself to throwing prepackaged combos. So he'll jab then jab , then jab to test the waters... then dart in and throw a jab/cross/hook. whether or not the jab or cross lands, he still throws that hook and hangs in range while whether his opponents reeling or waiting locked and loaded. Khans chin is not as bad as everyone thinks it is as long as he sees the shot coming like most fighters... but his penchant for trying to go buzzsaw on people clouds his vision and he takes his eyes off the ball more than many fighters I have seen. He gets caught with shots he never sees or expected...which is why he looks so ugly when he gets clipped. Diego Corrales used to do the same thing but with a much better chin, putting diego's heart in the right place for a come from behind victory. Khans got a lot of heart but when panic sets in, just results in him flailing and creating opportunities to be countered. The bad news is freddy should know all of this all too well having tried to patch these holes before in Khans sinking ship. Virgil did a great job on Khans footwork and outside fighting and jabbing... but there are somethings that are not always fixable (bad habits, instincts, personality defects) and that what freddy looks for.

[IamInuit]

This is a great illustration of the maxim that "styles make fights" by adding a name to this mix. I have never thought that Manny would have that much of a chance against Floyd and yet imo Khan does but has no chance against Manny.

[Master]

If it happens then we could finally see Pac Man v Floyd, Bradley v Thurman, JMM v Porter!

[cyclone]

J_theundesputed.

There is no "new khan" and if you call falling into clinches "smooth" then good luck with that.

Was the Khan that got dropped and rocked by shot to hell Julio Diaz the new Khan as well
That was only 2 fights ago...it makes me wonder where this new guy came from and when.

Dude just doesn't see punches well..his speed is nullified by his frailty and total lack of accuracy.


Khan has to wear a helmet in the rain so he won't be KTFO by the falling drops.

[mikeeod]

Agree that as far as styles go, Manny couldn't ask for a better match up than Khan. Manny obliterates Khan in that fight n looks spectacular. Arum is clever enough to make that match to make Floyd look bad by not beating Khan first. After Khan then Pac should go after Martinez if he gets by Cotto n then call it a career regardless of if he wins or loses. Sergio will be extremely tough for Manny, so in the event that he doesn't want that level of danger I would say beat up on Canelo n retire.

[J_Undisputed]

J_theundesputed.

There is no "new khan" and if you call falling into clinches "smooth" then good luck with that.

Was the Khan that got dropped and rocked by shot to hell Julio Diaz the new Khan as well
That was only 2 fights ago...it makes me wonder where this new guy came from and when.

Dude just doesn't see punches well..his speed is nullified by his frailty and total lack of accuracy.


Khan has to wear a helmet in the rain so he won't be KTFO by the falling drops.

Maybe the new guy came from the same place that makes calendars, since you don't seem to know they exist either. 2 fights was over a year ago. In that time, rather than fight twice in that span and spend 2-3 months tactically training for each opponent(x2), khans been overhauling and settling in with his trainer. Its been to his benefit. Is he a different guy? Not entirely, but hes definitely more polished. I said smoother LATERAL movement. What does that have to do with clinches? when your willing to look past one track bias and rewatch some tape, we can pick this conversation up and finish it as adults. I'm not a fan of khan so I realize its hard to credit him with improvement...but rewatch some footage with an open mind..you might learn something.

[Primo Carnera]

I'm not a fan of Khan, but I have to give him credit by saying his last fight was the best of his career. Stylish, Disciplined, but we must not forget it was Collazo, not Pac or Floyd. I would love to see Khan vs Pac because then we will se what good his so-called speed does for him . Pac is quicker than Khan, but most importantly more accurate and probably more spiteful. I know it was a while ago, but look how he put Hatton away. Pac beats Khan every day of the week and twice on Sundays!!!

[imp]

Khan also took a bit of damage in that fight and we really must not forget that this guy was 8 years out of prime.

Khan has to fight a couple more at 147 and really send a message to the division that he is a changed fighter under virgil.