By Dave Lahr: It’s always interesting to see how trainer Freddie Roach likes to predict knockout victories or lopsided wins. He seems to never predict for a close fight, and it’s understandable because his main gravy train fighter in Manny Pacquiao and he’s done well with catch weight handicap fights and good match making against opponents that have come into fights with Pacquiao a little beaten up. Roach is now picking his fighter WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) to knock out Marcos Maidana (29-1, 27 KO’s) on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas.

But besides Roach picking Khan to stop Maidana, he also thinks Khan is a better puncher than Maidana. What is Roach thinking? I know Roach likes to flap his gums a lot and believes in his fighters, but the man is going to get poor Khan hurt if he fills his head with those kinds of thoughts.

“We’re ready for whatever this guy [Maidana] brings,” Roach said in an article at the BBC Sport 5 Live. “If he wants to be aggressive or he wants to stand and wait, we’re ready. I don’t think we’ll lose a round and I feel we’ll knock this guy out. I feel I have the better puncher of the two, the better boxer and just the general all around fighter.”

I think Roach forget to add that his fighter Khan has the weakest chin of the two. I think Roach is seriously deluded if he believes that Khan is a bigger puncher compared to Maidana, but it shows that Roach is getting a little too cocky for his fighters’ own good. I think Roach is riding high on the success of Pacquiao and doesn’t realize that Khan doesn’t have the same kind of chin or ability that Pacquiao has going for him.