Freddie Roach Says No to Pacquiao vs Khan Showdown
Written by playerpress.com, Wednesday August 03 2011
It’s understandable why we’ll never see Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko duke it out to unify the heavyweight boxing titles, and that’s because they’re brothers. But is being buddies a good reason for boxers not to fight each other? According to trainer Freddie Roach it is and he said that’s why we’ll never see Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan trying to punch each other’s lights out in the ring, other than in sparring sessions.
This is bad news for the millions of fans who’d love to see them go toe to toe as they’re two of the most entertaining and charismatic fighters in the sport right now. Boxing fans have often missed out on some great matchups over the years to due legal and promotional issues, but is this good enough reason to pull the plug on a Pacquiao vs Khan scrap?
There have been dozens fights between friends in the past, but these two guys don’t need the money and there are other intriguing opponents out there for both of them. That’s Roach’s theory anyway. But if Floyd Mayweather Jr. doesn’t agree to fight Pacquiao anytime soon the public might get a little tired of shelling out for pay-per-view fights where Pacquiao isn’t challenged. Sooner or later they’re going to want to see him take on the best, which could be Khan.
But time’s running out since Pacquiao is taking on Juan Manuel Marquez for the third time this Nov. 12 and said he only wants two more fights after that because he plans on concentrating on his political career in the Philippines. The fight would be appealing and many experts feel Khan would actually have a good chance of winning due to all of the sparring he’s been doing with his buddy Pacquiao over the past few years.
Roach recently told the press they’ll never fight each other because he trains them both and he wouldn’t let it happen. He said Pacquiao and Khan are like sons to him and a father wouldn’t let his sons fight each other, at least not in the ring in a professional fight. Roach added that he wouldn’t know whose corner he would work in. He said he’s been with Pacquiao for 10 years and Khan for three and he wouldn’t want to ruin the special bond they have.
Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy agreed and said it would be a tough thing to do, especially with other good opponents out there for both of them. He said Khan could fight Erik Morales, Timothy Bradley, or the winner of the Robert Guerrero vs Marcos Maidana fight. But he also might fight the likes of Lamont Peterson, who’s a fine fighter, but not a household name. He’s also beaten Maidana already and Bradley doesn’t seem interested in taking him on.
However, Khan’s been getting on Bradley’s nerves lately by shooting off his mouth about Bradley being afraid of him, which of course is a ridiculous accusation for a pro boxer. If the bad blood between Khan and Bradley continues, it could hype the fight with the public and it might take place next year, likely at welterweight as Khan is expected to move up a division. Khan could also find himself in the ring with Mayweather as that’s an attractive matchup, especially if Mayweather refuses to fight Pacquiao and he gets by Victor Ortiz on Sept. 17.
But if none of these scenarios pan out, the public will start putting the pressure on for a Pacquiao vs Khan fight. Couldn’t Roach just do the simple thing and just not work either fighter’s corner that night?
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