Khan kabilang sa sparring mate ni Pacquiao

MANILA, Philippines - Nakabilang si Briton lightweight Amir Khan sa mga naging sparring partners ni Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao bago ang non-title welterweight fight nito kay Oscar Dela Hoya noong Disyembre 6 ng 2008.

Sa kanyang laban kay Mexican boxing great Marco Antonio Barrera, sinabi ni Khan na nakakuha siya ng magagandang payo mula kay “Pacman”.  

“Manny is a great guy. I’ve done a lot of sparring with him,” wika ng 2004 Olympic Games silver medalist sa panayam ng RTE Sport kahapon. “Going in and sparring with the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world has made me change my style a bit, made me more focused, more patient.”

 Nakatakdang sagupain ng 22-anyos na si Khan ang 35-anyos na si Barrera para sa World Boxing Association (WBA) International at ang bakanteng World Boxing Organization (WBO) Inter-Continental lightweight titles sa Marso 14 sa MEN Arena sa Manchester, England.

 Dalawang ulit tinalo ni Pacquiao si Barrera noong 2004 at 2006 na sinasabi ni Khan na maaari niyang paghugutan ng inspirasyon.

 “Manny’s beaten Barrera twice before and I talked to him about the fight and he said ‘yes, you should take the fight, it will be a good fight for you’. He gave me some tips about being patient, not over-committing and not doing the stupid things I did in the Breidis Prescott fight,” ani Khan.

 Halos anim na linggo ang ginugol ni Khan sa Wildcard Gym ni trainer Freddie Roach sa Los Angeles, California para sa kanyang preparasyon kay Barrera.

 “I had a great training camp in LA with Freddie Roach, everything is beginning to fall into place and I’m 100% up for this fight,” wika ni Khan. “I’ve got a lot to prove to the critics. It’s not going to be easy but the sparring I had in LA has really boosted my confidence.” (RC)