Pacquiao setting in for noble ending

If you get hit, then hit back. Hard.

That, says the unbeaten world light welterweight boxing champion Terence Crawford, was what his mother had taught him.

That, so far, has been the underlying philosophy behind Crawford’s sensational spiral toward becoming the next big name in professional boxing.

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You see, the name of one-time world title-holder Amir Khan of Great Britain continued to be prominently mentioned for Manny Pacquiao’s most probable opponent in a scheduled bout on April 9.

But when this week started, Crawford suddenly jumped ahead of Khan in the race as Pacquiao’s foe in what has been announced as the Filipino boxing superhero’s farewell fight, before he zeroes in on his chase of a seat in the Philippine Senate.

Actually, Khan had seemed close to clinching it as Pacquiao’s farewell opponent; until veteran promoter Bob Arum snapped and promptly quashed inadvertent reports about a done Pacquiao-Khan deal.

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One report yesterday said Pacquiao is on an extended break in Israel, after coaching and playing in a losing basketball match for his Mahindra Enforcers in Dubai.

It was also stated that Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz was to link up with his boss to present tapes of probable next foes that included Crawford, Khan and Tim Bradley.

What clearly dimmed Khan’s hopes of fighting Pacquiao was the sudden change of mood by trainer Freddie Roach, under whom the two boxers had trained in Baguio City years back.

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For the record, Roach had initially cautioned Pacquiao against picking Crawford because the unbeaten 28-year-old world champion could be “strong and too hungry” for him.

Buttonholed by Arum, Roach however, said he would now prefer that Pacquiao clash with Crawford (27-0, 19 KOs) instead of Khan (31-3, 19 KOs).

“I think Crawford is a better fight for us than Amir Khan at this point because Crawford will fight a little bit more and Amir wil run a little bit more,” Roach told Yahoo Sports.

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Roach had previously intimated how Pacquiao had hurt and humbled Khan in Baguio City.

But Khan continued to claim it was the other way around, insisting he actually had the better of Pacquiao in the Baguio camp.

Khan had since left Roach and hired a new trainer.

Maybe Roach, in requesting for a Crawford fight (for Pacquiao) did not want to demean Khan.

Knowing Roach, all he wanted was to see his prized ward pull the curtain down in glorious fireball fashion, not to end it all with a comic wild-goose chase.