Amir Khan's Ability to Beat Manny Pacquiao Questioned by Ronald 'Winky' Wright

Even if Amir Khan was able to line up a dream bout opposite Manny Pacquiao, former light middleweight champion Winky Wright has questioned the Briton's ability to contend against the eight-division world champion.

Speaking to Robert Brown of On The Ropes, Wright explained that while he's come to befriend Khan, he questioned whether the WBC Silver welterweight champion has the power to overcome "little monster" Pacquiao:

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I like both fighters, they’re good fighters. If I had to bet, I’m gonna have to bet on Pacquiao, he’s just a little monster, but Amir Khan is a good little fighter man, he throws a lot of punches and I like him and I’m friends with him. I don’t know if Amir’s got the power to keep Pacquiao off of him, because Pacquiao’s coming to knock you out. Can Amir hurt him enough or stun him enough to make him respect him?

At this time I would have to lean towards Pacquiao, but you never know. I like Amir, I think he’s a very good fighter, it just takes a lot of time for these fighters to become great. Amir is a very good fighter that has talent to become a great fighter.

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There have long been rumours the two fighters could clash, but there's yet to be any concrete evidence of who Pacquiao could match up against next after losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr. back in May.

The notion has been that Khan's camp would be more excited about the prospect of taking on a fighter of Pacquiao's stature, but analyst Sham Ayub suggested there's a hint of fear from the latter:

Khan is enjoying a winning streak of five matches, the most recent of which was a unanimous-decision triumph over Chris Algieri in May, whom Pacquiao beat in November 2014.

However, that bout didn't cast Khan's finishing power in the best of lights, where it was argued the 28-year-old shouldn't have allowed the fight go to a decision.

Omar Vega/Associated Press

On the other hand, Pacquiao is looking to avoid back-to-back defeats for the second time in his career, and Pac-Man has to choose his battles ever so carefully at 36 years of age.

In any case, a meeting between these two doesn't seem possible at present after Khan told the National he's no longer in negotiations for the fight following a period of "stalling" from his desired opponent (h/t Sky Sports):

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I'm really disappointed in Manny and his team. They aren't playing ball. All that was left to do is to sign the contract. But they are stalling. I have pulled out of the negotiations. I am no longer fighting Manny Pacquiao.

They know I am a tricky fight for him and they know I will beat him. Or else, why pull out of a fight when there is a lot of money on the table? I don't really know if Mayweather is fighting Pacquiao again. It is a possible reason for him to stall on signing the contract, but I don't really know.

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The possibility of a rematch with retired Mayweather most likely remains an obstacle in the matter, especially considering no other fighter right now presents the same potential payday that bout would.

Lace Up Boxing goes one step further in stating a meeting between Khan and Pacquiao was never even an option, citing the feud between promoter Bob Arum and manager Al Haymon as reason behind that theory:

With 38 knockouts in 57 career wins, Pacquiao's record and reputation certainly suggest his tactics focus more on power than Khan's 19 knockouts in 31 victories, although Pac-Man hasn't stopped a fighter since Miguel Cotto in 2009.

The Filipino veteran may not pack the same punch as the Pacquiao of old, but Wright still feels his best would be too much for an improving Khan to handle.