Amir Khan predicts Pacquiao vs. Spence & Crawford vs. Porter

By Boxing News - 08/05/2021 - Comments

By Jeff Aronow: Amir Khan says he sees Manny Pacquiao vs. Errol Spence Jr fight as a 50-50 contest on August 21st, but he’s leaning towards the younger fighter getting the victory.

(Photo credit: Sean Michael Ham/TGB Promotions)

Khan notes that the former eight division world champion Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) has the power to win this fight, but the youth of Errol will make it a formidable task.

Amir has been wrong before with his predictions, but with this one, he’s going with what many fans see as the safe pick.

If Pacquiao had taken two years off after his last fight against Keith Thurman, more boxing fans would be picking him to win.

Staying out of the ring for 25 months and coming back against Spence, it’s not the ideal way for an aging 42-year-old fighter to return.

With Pacquiao’s popularity, he could get a draw, if not a victory, even if it appears that Spence got the better of him. Being a huge star helps Pacquiao with the judging, which means any close rounds will go to him.

Amir leaning towards Spence to win

“It’s going to be a great fight, but it’s going to be a tough fight for Pacquiao,” said Amir Khan to Fighthype. “Pacquiao is the smaller guy, whereas Spence is the bigger guy.

Image: Amir Khan predicts Pacquiao vs. Spence & Crawford vs. Porter

“He’ll be on top of him. He’s got the power, he’s got the speed, he’s got the youth behind him,” said Khan of Errol.

“So I think he’s [Spence] got everything it takes. One thing about Manny Pacquiao. When he turns it on, he turns it on. He looked great in training.

“I’ve watched him in training camp. He looks in great shape. Who knows? In this sport, one punch can change a night.

“At the same time, it’s not as if Manny doesn’t have the power. Manny has the power too. He’s got that big bang, and I’ve seen him knock out some great fighters.

I think it’s a 50-50 fight, but I kind of lean a little bit more towards the younger man, which is Spence,” said Khan.

Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) will be using his jab to keep Pacquiao from getting near enough for him to land shots.

Floyd Mayweather Jr did a good job of containing Manny’s offense with his jab, and we’re probably going to see Spence using the same tactic.

Khan picks Crawford over Porter

“I think it’s a great fight for Crawford,” said Khan when asked his thoughts on the Terence Crawford vs. Shawn Porter contest that the World Boxing Organization recently ordered.

Image: Amir Khan predicts Pacquiao vs. Spence & Crawford vs. Porter

“Crawford is a very good technical fighter. I think he’ll just box. Porter is the type of fighter that is going to keep rushing forward with his head down, throwing those looping hooks.

“I just feel like Crawford is a good boxer and a good puncher. I think Crawford wins that all day long,” said Khan.

If Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) can take the fight to the inside against Crawford, it could be a long night for the Top Rank promoter. Crawford hasn’t fought a quality inside fighter during his career.

Felix Diaz, John Molina, Raymundo Beltran, and Ricky Burns were four excellent inside fighters that Crawford beat without getting hit much.

Crawford did a lot of holding to keep those guys from getting their shots off. It worked, but the fights were pretty boring to watch.

Porter is the type of guy that won’t be denied, so Crawford might need to stay on the run. Shawn already dealt with a fighter that used holding to negate his offense when he lost to Kell Brook in 2014.

But Porter learned from that fight, and he’s not allowed anyone that he’s faced since to use holding to stymie his offense.

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