Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach has backed Amir Khan to be his next Manny Pacquiao and rule the boxing world.
American Roach, pictured, will be in the British fighter’s corner for the fifth time on tonight when Khan (22-1, 16 KOs) defends his WBA light-welterweight title against American Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, 5 KOs) at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden.
And having guided Philippines folk hero Pacquiao to his current status as the pound for pound best fighter in the world, Roach believes Khan, 23, has the makings of being the ‘PacMan’s’ successor.
“That’s who people compare him to,” Roach said. “In Vancouver (for Khan’s
training camp), my friend who owns the gym said ‘Freddie, that’s your next Manny’. I said ‘I know’.
“People tell me that and I envision that but I don’t say it too often.
“He has all the tools to do it but as Manny says to me, ‘you train me and get me ready but it’s up to me to win the fight’.
“And it’s up to Amir to go out there and perform and win the fight, so I can only do so much.”
Khan went to
work with Roach at his famous Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Los Angeles, following the only defeat of his professional career, a shock, one-punch, first-round knockout at lightweight by Breidis Prescott in September 2008.
Both trainer and fighter have seen big improvements in the maturing Khan since then as the former Olympic silver medallist has moved up to a stacked 140-pound division featuring American stars Nate Campbell and Victor Ortiz, who clash on the Khan-Malignaggi undercard, Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley, as well as Argentina’s Marcos Maidana.
Even in that Prescott defeat, Roach sees a similar career path to Pacquiao’s rise to the top.
“Manny got knocked out twice before he was world champion. Amir was 21 when he got knocked out and he was a kid too.
“(Amir) has less room for error because at a young age he’s put himself in a very hot division, packed with talent.
“But I see it as a great opportunity to have greatness.
“Whoever wins out of those four or five guys is going to be the next pound-for-pound king, I feel.”
Roach believes that in facing slick and elusive former IBF title-holder Malignaggi, there is an ideal opportunity to showcase his fighter’s talents for the first time in front of an American audience and that bigger fights will quickly follow.
“I’m still preparing him but I definitely think he’s ready with his amateur background and we’ve come a long way. This is our fifth fight together and he’s come a long way.
“He’s a talented kid but he is young, though, and everyone thinks we’re ducking Maidana and these guys but that’s not true.
“Make that fight a megafight, let the promoters do their job and make it a big, big fight.
“Maidana, nobody really knows in America and Amir is not really well known in America so let’s build these guys up here and all over the world and they can get paid for what it’s worth.
“But it’s a beautiful place to start. Madison Square Garden. Okay, it’s not in the big
house but it’s big, it’s on HBO and this is the big time.
“There’s some pressure in front of a new audience but he’s a performer and the pressure’s good for Amir. It makes him a better fighter.”
Khan said he was also boosted by Roach’s high praise of his talents.
“It gives you confidence when Freddie thinks you’re that good.
“Freddie knows how hard I train and how hard Manny trains and even if I did half of what Manny Pacquiao has done in my career I’d be a happy person.
“So it gives you a big push and a lot of buzz.”
