By Jason Kim: World Boxing Association light welterweight champion Amir Khan will reportedly be one of the sparring partners for World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao for his March 13th bout against unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. This is a plus for the 23-year-old Khan, because hell have the chance to get some valuable sparring in with Pacquiao and possibly lean some things in the process.
This may be Khans last chance to pick up things from Pacquiao, as there is talk of the Mayweather fight being the last fight of Pacquiaos career. If that is indeed the case, then there wont likely be anymore future sparring sessions between Khan and Pacquiao. It may even be rare that the two fighters see each other, because Pacquiao lives in the Philippines and likely wont be taking too many trips to the U.S.
Khan defeated Dmitriy Salita by a 1st round knockout last Saturday night in England. It was an excellent performance by Khan, who wants to move his operations to the United States where he hopes to become a big star. Khan hasnt mentioned an opponent for his next fight, but theres talk of him fighting Jose Luis Castillo, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Ricky Hatton.
Of the three, Castillo probably is the most likely to get the opportunity. Khan could fight on the undercard of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight on the 13th of March, in which case the sparring with Pacquiao will serve Khan well for his own training. Although if Khan fights the 35-year-old Castillo, the sparring with Pacquiao wont be one in which Khan is facing a similar fighter to Castillo.
While Khan wants to become a star in the boxing world, it will be difficult for him to do that unless hes put in with some good fighters who can still fight. As of yet, Khans management team appear to be bringing him along slowly and havent put him in with dangerous fighters like Edwin Valero, Timothy Bradley, Marcos Maidana, Kendall Holt and Victor Ortiz.
Theres time for that in the future, but Khan wont likely become a big star until hes fighting other big named fighters that are in their prime like the aforementioned boxers. Khan has a victory over 35-year-old Marco Antonio Barrera, but the win, a 5th round technical decision, wasnt as impressive as it could have been because the fight was stopped early because of a cut on the forehead of Barrera.
If Khan faces Castillo, it would add another big name to Khans resume, albeit another old one. In the end, trainer Freddie Roach and Khans promoter Frank Warren will select who Khan will fight next. It probably wont be a dangerous opponent given that this will be Khans voluntary defense and theyll likely want Khan a chance to look good in front of a large world wide audience. Castillo would give Khan an opponent with a name that might interest fans more than, say, a fight with a younger fighter with more ability.
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