Manny Pacquiao vs. Amir Khan 'Boring,' Danny Garcia Preferred by Freddie Roach
Freddie Roach, trainer of boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs), believes Danny Garcia (31-0, 18 KOs) would make for a better future opponent than Amir Khan (31-3, 19 KOs), describing a potential bout between the latter and his pupil as “a little bit boring.”
As reported by Radio Rahim of BoxingScene.com, Roach believes their similar styles wouldn't make for a good fight, saying:
"I like Danny Garcia, I think he's the more exciting fight. Amir Khan and [Pacquiao] have too much of a similar style where it might be a little boring―with two in and out boxers with good speed and so forth. I think Danny Garcia comes to fight. I think he looks for knockouts. I like his style and I think he and Pacquiao would be a good matchup.
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The 36-year-old Pacquiao is looking to bounce back following a unanimous-decision loss against longtime rival Floyd Mayweather, and he needs a high-profile win in his next bout to boost his stock. Money easily held the Filipino slugger at bay, making Pacquiao look old and slow at times.
Khan and Pacquiao used to spar frequently in the past, back when the Brit still trained under Roach before moving on to Virgil Hunter. Roach knows exactly what to expect from Khan, who in turns knows all of Pac-Man's strengths and weaknesses.
Bleacher Report's Kelsey McCarson actually believes it would make for an intriguing bout:
"#PacquiaoKhan would be pretty fun. Heh?
— Kelsey McCarson (@KelseyMcCarson) August 17, 2015"
Khan has incredible hand speed and solid footwork, similar to Pacquiao in his glory days, and a fight between the two would likely be fast and furious. The Brit isn't known for his punching power or his jaw, so Pacquiao would have a solid chance at landing his first knockout win since 2009.
Garcia is more of a brawler who relies on punching power, and he would present Pacquiao with a less mobile target, playing into Pacquiao's strengths. Garcia's power makes him a tricky opponent, but an in-form Pacquiao should be able to hand the 27-year-old his first professional loss.
The problem is that Garcia is managed by Al Haymon, and he isn't exactly close friends with Top Rank, the company that promotes Pacquiao. The two parties managed to put aside their differences temporarily to make a fight between Mayweather and Pac-Man work, but since then, they've gone right back to battling it out, with Top Rank suing Haymon back in July, via ESPN.com's Dan Rafael.
The odds of Haymon and Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank, finding enough common ground to make this bout work are minuscule at best. In all likelihood, Pacquiao and Garcia won't be facing off anytime soon.
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