Amir Khan to feature in HBO’s Pacquiao vs. Margarito 24/7

WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan, who defends his belt in December against Argentinean puncher Marcos Maidana, will feature in the HBO 24/7 mini series ahead of Manny Pacquiao’s clash with Antonio Margarito on November 13th.

The rising British star was interviewed by HBO after training in the Philippines earlier today, presumably focusing on his experiences so far in Pacquiao’s Baguio city training camp.

Khan is currently concentrating on his strength and conditioning with Alex Ariza after a slightly extended absence from the ring after beating Paulie Malignaggi in May, and aside from sparring with Pacquiao at some point will likely also bring in his own partners closer to his fight.

After concerns about the early portion of his training, Pacquiao is now making up for lost time, and has cut down on the distractions that caused several missed days of roadwork.

As a sparring partner Khan is physically similar in size and reach to Margarito, but has a radically different style, which has lead some to question the merit of him training with Pacquiao. Similarly Pacquiao bears very little resemblance to Khan’s opponent Marcos Maidana in either size or style, although the sparring should serve to sharpen both ahead of their respective bouts.

The one possible hitch to both training schedules is the threat of a typhoon moving into the area, which could potentially strand the fighters in Baguio later than they had intended. Currently, the entire camp is scheduled to move to trainer Freddie Roach’s Wildcard gym in Los Angeles on October 23rd, although those plans may now be altered to account for the possibility of landslides and extreme weather conditions.

Undoubtedly, Khan will be hoping that this will be the first of many appearances on the 24/7 series, and should he win his next two or three bouts, he could well be starring in a series of his own.

With large fan bases in both Pakistan and Britain already, Khan is uniquely positioned to become the next big star in the sport if he continues to win, and unlike many of the current crop of manufactured HBO stars has no problems drawing a crowd in the United States either.

Should be get past Marcos Maidana it is expected that Khan will take on the winner of the upcoming bout between Devon Alexander and Tim Bradley, the remaining names at the top of the light welterweight rankings. If he can unify the titles, given his size and the bigger names one weight north, a move to welterweight is likely.

Golden Boy representatives have mentioned Khan as a possible future opponent for Floyd Mayweather if and when the latter returns to the ring sometime next year. Khan himself has also mentioned recently that he thinks he will be ready to take on the likes of Mayweather within a few fights, and that he intends to retire from boxing at the age of 28.

Gene Rogers, Pitt: “Khan doesn’t have the chin to get right to the top. He should beat Maidana, but then so should about half of his opponents and look what happened to them”