With his November 13 super welterweight showdown against a taller and bigger Antonio Margarito just around the corner, Manny Pacquiao’s training camp in Baguio will have a more intense routine in the days to come with the scheduled arrival of British welterweight champion Amir Khan.
Khan (23 wins, 1 loss, 17 knockouts), who is set to defend his WBA title against Marcos Maidana of Argentina (29-1, 27 KOs) this December in Las Vegas, will be flying to the Philippines to spend three weeks in the country’s "summer capital” as one of Pacquiao’s sparmates.
"Tell me if there's a better place to be than with the world's best trainer and the world's best boxer. I learn so much from rubbing shoulders with Manny and I genuinely admire him," Khan said, in an interview with Telegraph Sports.
Also training under the watchful eyes of multi-titled American trainer Freddie Roach, Khan says he sees no big obstacle with him and Pacquiao sharing on the 50-year-old trainer’s attention.
“I get so much from working alongside Manny. We never fight over Freddie's attention,” the 23-year-old Khan said, who will be joining fellow boxers Michael Medina and Glen Tapia as Pacquiao’s sparring partners.
Two other sparmates — Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (41-0, 30 KOs) and Vanes Martirosyan (28-0, 17 KOs) will hit town in time to rough up things some more for the pound-for-pound king’s camp.
Pacquiao has reportedly requested Khan to be one of his sparmates, saying that the young champion’s hand speed will be valuable in helping him get to fighting shape against the 5-foot-11 Margarito of Mexico.
As for the possibility of him facing Pacquiao in the future, Khan says he really can’t see it happening.
“I'm sure by the time I get to that level he will be calling it a day. We train in the same camp and I've got too much respect for Manny to fight him,” Khan said in an interview quoted by LiveFight.com
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