Amir Khan has backed Floyd Mayweather to emerge victorious from the ‘fight of the century’, as he takes on Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas on May 2.

Having been in talks with both fighters over a potential bout prior to the confirmation of the welterweight world championship unification fight at the MGM Garden Arena, the Bolton-based fighter believes Mayweather will remain unbeaten after the showdown.

“It’s going to be a great fight and I think five years ago it would have been ever better because they were both at their peak and it was a fight that everyone was dying to see,” he said.

“Since then Manny Pacquiao has had two defeats. He’s been knocked out once by [Juan Manuel] Marquez and then he got beat by [Timothy] Bradley which was a little controversial, but I think Mayweather will take the fight.

“He will be much smarter and he’ll pick his shots a little bit better. He’ll make it a little boring at times because Manny, as we know, is a come-forward fighter who likes to do a lot of punches.

“But Mayweather will try to avoid all those punches and just maybe throw that one shot that will count and then move away again. But time will tell.

“I’ve been watching Mayweather train on social media and he has been training very hard so he might come up with a different gameplan this fight, something that we have not seen before.

“He might put pressure on Manny Pacquiao to show that ‘look your pressure does not work against me’ so it’s going to be a good fight to see. But I favour Mayweather more because his style suits Manny Pacquiao.”

Khan and Filipino Pacquiao previously trained together in Los Angeles, and the 28-year-old expects the ‘Pac Man’ to adopt a new approach in order to overcome his powerful opponent.

“If Manny wants to really give Mayweather a run for his money, it’s all about putting that pressure on him, having that in-and-out movement and hopefully looking for that one big shot,” he continued.

“Everyone knows that Manny can punch and Mayweather can he take that big shot? We have never seen Mayweather hit with a good shot so with Manny’s speed he needs to get in there, get Mayweather a little bit riled, get rough with him in there, push him around a little bit and throw them big powerful shots.”

With a clash with either Mayweather or Pacquaio currently ruled out, Khan is expected to fight Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto in the summer, and is currently training in San Francisco under Virgil Hunter in preparation.

He said: “I think Miguel Cotto’s a good fighter for me. Obviously styles make fights, he’s a very big name in boxing, everyone knows who he is. I think with my speed, movement and the way I have been fighting under Virgil Hunter, I think it will be a great fight for me. I know he is a lot heavier than me but doing that fight at catch-weight will be amazing.

“But at the moment we have just left everything with the managers and hopefully they can get everything sorted out and within the next week or so we can get something announced for hopefully towards the end of May.”

28-year-old Sheffield based Kell Brook is another name expected to meet Khan in the near future, as the undefeated welterweight ‘Special K’ plans to defend his IBF welterweight title on Saturday night against Jo Jo Dan.

“That fight can happen in the future for sure,” said Khan. “Maybe towards the end of the year or next year – maybe a fight between myself and Kell Brook can happen.

“I am sure he is hopeful this weekend and then hopefully after that we can start talking to him. It’s a fight that boxing fans want to see and it’s a fight I’d like as well. So why not?

“Hopefully he gets past his fight, I get past my fight in May and we can get something on.”

Mayweather, going into the fight as Khan’s favourite, has won all 47 of his professional fights to date, including 26 knockouts.

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About the author
Kane Brooker
Kane is an 18-year-old Sports Journalist who predominantly covers Manchester United FC while having a heavy involvement in the Boxing office. Having joined the VAVEL team back in October 2014, he has previously featured for Sky Sports News while writing regularly for The Non-League Paper. Kane is also the club reporter, programme editor and press and communications officer for Walton Casuals Football Club.