Khan would be difficult for Pacquiao, says Robert Garcia

By Boxing News - 09/18/2015 - Comments

khan343444By Tim Fletcher: Promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank has a four fighter list of guys that he’s considering for Manny Pacquiao’s next fight in February or March of 2016. Arum says he’ll make his choice for Pacquiao from one of this list of fighters: Terence Crawford, Amir Khan, Lucas Matthysse or Juan Manuel Marquez.

Khan is hoping that he’ll be the one that gets picked out by Arum, because he believes that he would be getting Pacquiao at the best time with him coming off of a loss to Floyd Mayweather and a bad shoulder injury.

Khan thinks this would be a time where Pacquiao is most vulnerable. Trainer Robert Garcia thinks Khan would be a bad choice for Pacquiao to fight due to his movement. He thinks that Pacquiao might not even catch him.

The fighter that Garcia believes would be the best for Top Rank to put in with Pacquiao is Crawford. It would help Top Rank if Crawford were to beat Pacquiao because it would turn him into a superstar.

It obviously wouldn’t be the best fight for Pacquiao though. He would be in a position of being a stepping stone for Crawford in the same way that an older Oscar De La Hoya was a stepping stone for Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Pacquiao many years ago in turning them into superstars after he was beaten by them.

“If Bob Arum is going to do any one of those three [Juan Manuel Marquez, Lucas Matthysse of Terence Crawford] we’re talking about, Matthysse is too much risk being that Matthysse is with Golden Boy,” Garcia said to Fighthype. “I think the one that makes the most sense is Crawford; a young fighter that’s making his name out there. I think he might even be able to beat Pacquiao. That would be Bob Arum making a new superstar. That would probably be a smart move,” Garcia said.

When asked if Amir Khan would be a good option for Pacquiao in his next fight, Garcia said “I don’t think that’s a very smart fight for Pacquiao, not at this point. Amir Khan is probably going to be most difficult because he’ll move around too much and Pacquiao might not even catch him. I think Matthysse would be a way better fight for Pacquiao or Terence Crawford,” Garcia added.

Arum will need to make the decision soon about who will be Pacquiao’s next opponent. If Pacquiao is going to be back inside the ring by March at the latest in 2016, then Arum needs to make his selection for Pacquiao in the next three months. Khan is waiting patiently to find out if he’s going to get the fight, but he can’t wait indefinitely.

If Arum doesn’t make his decision soon then Khan will need to schedule a fight for November or December. It puts Khan in a bad situation if Arum drags this out longer because he might end up missing out his second fight of the year if he waits and doesn’t end up getting the Pacquiao fight.

Khan is still hoping that he can get a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. if he returns to the ring in 2016.

“He’s leaving on a bad note. No disrespect to Andre Berto, but the world obviously wants to see him [Mayweather] fight Amir Khan,” Khan said to BoxNation. “I’m sure he’ll want to break the record of 49-0. I’m sure he wants to come back for that 50th,” Khan said.



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