Khan: Margarito tough but he’s sure to fall

Antonio Margarito will be tough but Manny Pacquiao will stop him in round eight or nine.

WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan declared this after arriving early yesterday morning and before driving up to Baguio City where he will train alongside Pacquiao.

“I think Manny is the best fighter in the world and whoever they put in front of him, I think Manny will beat,” said Khan, who is also being trained by Freddie Roach. “He’s got the skills, the speed, the footwork.

“This fight against Margarito will be tough, but I think Manny will stop him maybe in round eight or round nine,” added the Briton, who confirmed he will also spar with Pacquiao.

Khan, the 23-year-old 2004 Athens Olympic Games silver medalist, will battle the hard-hitting Argentine Marcos 

Maidana four weeks after the Pacquiao-Margarito WBC super welterweight title fight at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium on Nov. 13.

Despite being ill the past two days and failing to work out on Wednesday, Pacquiao sparred six rounds yesterday, four with Michael Medina and two with Glen Tapia. 

“He looked okay,” said Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz. “Manny was mostly concentrating on his timing and he’s taking control of his sparring.”

Koncz said Roach asked Pacquiao whether he wanted to spar and “he said okay.” He also said Pacquiao would jog on Friday.

Despite reports detailing the height and reach advantage of the bigger Margarito, Khan said Pacquiao is “super, bigger, stronger.”

“While Manny is a nice guy outside the ring, when he gets into the ring he’s an animal,” Khan said, adding he is a big fan of the Filipino champ.

The Briton also said training with the world’s pound-for-pound king gives him the extra push to  train harder.

Pacquiao had “always invited me to the Philippines and it’s nice for me to come here, meet Manny, meet his people and meet the Filipinos as well,” Khan said.

One of Britain’s biggest name in boxing today said his main thrust so far is to build his conditioning because it is still too early to prepare for his Dec. 11 fight.

At the same time, Khan was full of praise for Roach and conditioning guru Alex Ariza.

“Freddie gave me more focus, made me more hungry and more technical” while Ariza “gets me in the best condition and makes sure you’re still throwing punches up to the 12th round.”