By William Mackay: Amir Khan is being groomed by Freddie Roach as the next big thing in boxing, and possibly the next Manny Pacquiao-type fighter. Khan has the hand speed, movement and youth going for him. He also has Golden Boy Promotions backing him, which is a good thing because it means that Khan will likely be able to fight on HBO every time out. Pacquiao is getting old and probably won’t be fighting more than a year or two more if that.

Once Pacquiao leaves boxing there’s going to be a huge void left where Pacquiao once stood. Roach, in particular, will be losing his biggest cash cow once Pacquiao is gone from the sport, and he’ll need another fighter with a big name so he can continue to ride the gravy train. Khan could be that fighter that takes Pacquiao’s place as the number #1 fighter in the sport. However, Khan is going to need some help to get him to the top. As we saw in his 1st round knockout loss to Breidis Prescott in 2008, Khan’s vulnerable against big punchers.

Some people think that maybe that loss was just a fluke thing, but as you notice, Roach hasn’t been in a hurry to try and put Khan back in with any sluggers since that time. As I write this, Khan is being maneuvered to fight 36-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez, a lightweight without a lot of power. However, even if Khan doesn’t have the best chin in boxing, he can still end up being the next Pacquiao regardless. It’s all about matchmaking. If Khan can be skillfully positioned to fight exclusively light to moderate punchers for the remainder of his career, I think he will end up being the next superstar in boxing and end up taking Pacquiao’s mantle once he retires from boxing.

The thing is matters right now that Khan has a title in his possession to give him a sense of credibility with boxing fans. That doesn’t mean that Khan will need to keep the title forever. He can vacate titles based on who he’s forced to fight. For example, if Khan is forced to fight knockout artist Marcos Maidana, a fighter that could probably knock Khan into the stratosphere if he connected, then Khan needs to vacate that title or else try to give Maidana a step aside fee to maneuver around him.

In the meantime, Khan needs to build up his name beating old lions like Marquez, Erik Morales and Nate Campbell. After Khan gets through these older fighters, Khan should be selectively matched against some of the paper champions in the light welterweight and lightweight divisions. I think Khan can easily beat some of those guys without much problem. Again, the trick is to win the titles and immediately vacate the straps depending on whether there’s a threat of a big puncher beading down on him.

If Khan’s mandatory challenger is a weak one, like Dmitri Salita, then Khan should go ahead and defend the title. By doing this over and over again, I think Khan can quickly become the next Pacquiao. However, he’ll have to avoid the big punchers at all costs because I don’t think Khan’s chin is sturdy enough for him to survive him getting hit solid by a puncher like Maidana, Ricardo Torres, Kendall Holt or Prescott. But that doesn’t matter.

The casual boxing fans has no clue about who is good or not good, and all Khan has to do is keep being put in with weaker punchers or old guys that make him look good, and I can see Khan becoming the next Pacquiao in no time flat.