By Chris Williams: Amir Khan believes that WBO light welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) has slipped a couple of notches at age 35, and he feels that he could have problems in his next fight on November 22nd against undefeated Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) in Macau, China.
Khan thinks Pacquiao’s performances in his last four fights have been less than impressive, and while he’s won his last two fights against Tim Bradley and Brandon Rios, he felt that Pacquiao failed to impress in either of those bouts.
Khan thinks Pacquiao’s problems derive from the combination of his advanced age and his many ring wars. The two of them have done a number on Pacquiao to the point where he’ going to struggle a week from now against the younger Algieri.
“Pacquiao’s last few performances have not been the best,” Khan said via ESPN.co.uk. “He has been caught a bit and it might be tough for him this next one. The Tim Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez fights took a lot out of him. He’s getting older – he’s 35. I think it will go the distance, but Algieri might surprise a few people with his performance.”
Some boxing fans may assume that Khan is taking a shot at Pacquiao in a self-serving manner, but I don’t believe that’s what Khan is doing here. He seems to be calling it like he sees it in pointing out the obvious about Pacquiao not having looked good in his last four fights.
The Pacquiao that knocked out Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto is no longer around. Pacquiao has changed dramatically since those fights, and he’s now slower, older, and less powerful looking. Khan believes that there’s been some deterioration in Pacquiao’s game, and he could very well be correct in that assumption. The knockouts have completely dried up and he no longer looks good even when facing guys that are made to order for him like Rios.
“The relentlessness, power and explosiveness are all gone with Pacquiao and he’s not like he used to be,” Khan said.
It’s very true that the explosiveness that Pacquiao once had is now almost totally gone. Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach believes that he can bring it back by having him train hard, but that seems to be more wishful thinking than reality. Roach will likely continue to believe that the fountain of youth is just around the corner for Pacquiao until the day he retires.
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