By Sean McDaniel: Trainer Freddie Roach believes that WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan is ahead of where Manny Pacquiao was when he was at the same point in his career as Khan. Khan has won a title and beaten a small handful of good fighters but has also been knocked out and still hasn’t attempted to avenge that loss.

In a Reuters article, Roach said “Amir has been with me for just three years now and he’s getting closer and closer. He will become the pound-for-pound king within a couple of years. He is well ahead of schedule and a big win here against Zab would be another step towards Manny’s record.”

Roach is one of the few people who do see Khan as becoming the pound-for-pound number #1 fighter in boxing because Khan barely beat Marcos Maidana, a decent slugger but far from being the best fighter in the light welterweight division. Khan was staggered in that fight and it was all he could do to keep from getting knocked out in the final three rounds.

That performance hardly suggests that Khan will ever be a pound for pound #1 fighter in boxing. Of course, it’s understandable why Roach would want to say that he will be because it brings more attention to his fighter and it helps Roach. However, the reality is Khan struggles against big punchers and never did fight Prescott at again.

At best, he’ll be a decent champion at light welterweight as long as he’s not fighting sluggers. If you put him back in with Prescott or Maidana, I don’t like Khan’s chances of winning. And I think it’s ridiculous to talk of him ever being a pound for pound #1 or being ahead of Pacquiao at any stage of his career.

Khan faces IBF light welterweight champion Zab Judah on July 23 and there’s a lot questions whether Khan will win even this fight. Judah may be old at 33, but he can punch and Khan has problems taking hard shot, as we’ve seen in the past. If khan wins this fight, he’s going to take a couple of easy fights against Erik Morales and Kell Brook.

Morales isn’t anywhere close to what he used to be and Brook is inexperienced to the extreme at the world level. Khan is hoping these fights will get him a bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Khan sees that fight as a fight for the pound for pound title. It’s pretty silly because Khan stands no chance in that fight and that fight shouldn’t be for any kind of pound for pound title with the opposition that Khan has faced. Instead of fighting Brook and Morales, he should be fighting Lucas Matthysse. He won’t, of course, but he should. Matthysse can punch.