By Chris Williams: Former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan is one of many possibilities for WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr’s next fight on May 2nd in 2015. Khan possesses top speed with super quick mobility that you don’t see from other welterweights in the division.
It would seem that Khan would be potentially the most difficult opponent for Mayweather to face at this point in his career in the 147lb division. Trainer Robert Garcia thinks that Khan isn’t the toughest opponent that Mayweather can face at welterweight.
To Garcia, he thinks WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao would be the toughest option for Mayweather to fight right now. Garcia says Pacquiao’s speed, movement, punching angles and elusiveness would make it more difficult for Mayweather to fight him than Khan.
“I think Manny Pacquiao,” Garcia said to esnewsreporting.com about Pacquiao being a tougher opponent for Mayweather than Khan. “Manny Pacquiao is awkward, he’s difficult. He’s hard to catch, he’s fast and he’s got angles. I think Manny Pacquiao [is more difficult for Mayweather than Khan], I do.”
After seeing what Mayweather did to Marcos Maidana last month, I would disagree with Garcia about Pacquiao being a more difficult opponent than Khan. Pacquiao doesn’t have the mobility or the skills at cutting off the ring that would trouble Mayweather any.
Khan is a much faster fighter in moving around, and he’s good at cutting off the ring. Khan also has the size to make it an interesting fight for Mayweather. I believe that Keith Thurman is a tougher option than Khan right now, but if the choices are between Khan and Pacquiao in terms of who the toughest fighter is, I’d have to go with Khan as being a tougher option for Mayweather.
Pacquiao is tough against fighters that stand in one place for 12 rounds like Brandon Rios, but he does poorly against fighters that use movement against him. But with Pacquiao having been knocked out recently by Juan Manuel Marquez, I still don’t think Pacquiao would do well against Mayweather even if he were stand perfectly still for the entire fight to be a stationary target for Pacquiao.
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