By Scott Gilfoid: You can’t say that Freddie Roach doesn’t support his fighters. I honestly don’t know what Roach sees in WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan, other than being popular in the UK because of the Silver Medal he won in the 2004 Olympics. Khan was spanked in the Gold Medal match by Cuban Mario Kindelan. I guess as a trainer, they sometimes because like parents and are unable to see the flaws of their fighters can’t give a realistic evaluation of how good or not so good they are. Well, Roach sees Khan, Floyd Mayweather Jr., as getting better to the point where he’ll soon be near or at Pacquiao’s level. Never mind the fact that many boxing fans see Mayweather as already better than Pacquiao.
In an article at the Dailymail.co.uk, Roach says “Manny [Pacquiao] is still ahead but he knows that Amir has come out on top at least once. Manny is still super quick and speed kills. But if anything, Amir is just a tiny bit faster now and his punching is getting more powerful by the day. Manny’s punching is more dense but the gap between them is narrowing. Floyd Mayweather? No, Amir Khan is the only fighter out there who is close to catching Manny.”
Maybe if it was a track meet, I could see Khan beating Pacquiao in a 100 meter sprint, but that’s about it. It’s too bad Roach is getting so heavily invested in Khan, because it could shatter him when he sees Khan get knocked cold by Marcos Maidana (29-1, 27 KO’s) on December 11th in their fight at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, in Las vegas, Nevada. I wouldn’t want to see Roach crying like an old grandmother at the sight of Khan knocked out on the canvas from one of Maidana’s big right hands.
That would be like a dream reduced in a puff of smoke from Maidana’s huge rights. Roach would be much better off if he at least had waited until Khan actually fought someone before he started spouting off at the mouth about his grand vision for him in the future. If I had a fighter that was knocked out in one round by Breidis Prescott, I would still be skeptical about the guy if all he had been matched against since then was five weak punchers like the ones that Khan has faced. Roach should know this, shouldn’t he? He’s supposed to be experienced at this, so why is he predicting greatness for a fighter that is still unproven? I can see Roach in a bad way on December 11th. He’ll be okay, because he’ll still have Pacquiao to train for another three fights or so. He’ll be okay, but his dreams for Khan will need some adjustment to fit in with reality.
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