Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan. File photos
Boxing trainer Ronnie Shields believes a match between Manny Pacquiao and former sparring mate Amir Khan could go both ways.
It’s either Pacquiao could end up teaching the young buck a thing or two about the word “hurt” or Khan could take advantage of the eight-division World Champion’s age.
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“I think it’s a good fight. It’s a good fight because Pacquiao knows Amir Khan,” Shields told OnTheRopesBoxing.com. “I know the guys were training together and you hear so many different stories out there, but only those guys really know what happened.”
Shields, who has had a humble professional career, trained iconic heavyweight such as Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, and David Tua.
“I think Manny Pacquiao, with his style and with the power that he possesses, I think he really feels he can probably hurt Amir, maybe even knock him out.”
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In a report from Bolton News, Khan said he wants to fight Pacquiao, whom he considers as the no.2 pound-for-pound boxer, as a stepping stone to fight Mayweather, his no.1 pound-for-pound boxer.
Shields added Khan could hold his ground against Pacquiao who has slipped in performance due to age and pointed out the Filipino’s knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez.
“Amir probably feels the same way, he probably feels Manny is the older guy, he’s slipping. You just gotta look at his last couple of fights and you can see he’s not the same Manny Pacquiao of old,” Shields said. “He’s slipping a little bit because of his age. Amir probably thinks he can capitalize on that and with his power, he may feel he could do the same thing that Juan Manuel Marquez did, knock Manny Pacquiao out.”