PACQUIAO?S CONDITIONING GURU SAYS AMIR KHAN LOOKS FANTASTIC
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 22 Jan 2009
Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao?s conditioning guru Alex Ariza who
whipped Pacquiao into terrific shape for his spectacular performances against WBC lightweight champion David Diaz and Oscar De La Hoya says British lightweight prospect Amir Khan ?looks fantastic.?
Ariza conceded that the March 14 battle between the 22 year old Olympic silver medalist Khan and Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera at the MEN Arena in England was ?going to be a big, big fight for us.?
He said Khan had his first workout late Saturday night at the Wild Card Gym after his arrival from London ?just to get rid of the jetlag? and had his first workout with trainer Freddie Roach on Monday.
Ariza said that in the first meeting with Roach they ?went over the game-plan for Barrera.? He said Khan would spend two weeks on conditioning and start sparring after that.
He said that Roach had picked Khan?s sparring partners but declined to name them in deference to Roach.
Roach told us when the fight was announced that he had taken it because he was confident that Khan had the speed and the power to beat Barrera. Roach who will be in Khan?s corner when he faces Barrera said ?I know the style to beat him. I know the type of styles he has trouble with and Amir?s is going to be one of those styles.?
Roach said he believes Barrera would have a hard time fighting at the lightweight limit. But because he knows Barrera, Roach said he will have a plan B ?just in case he makes adjustments on us.?
Roach added ?I know Marco is a very tough fighter, but it?s our time now.?
Khan believes he has ?got everything to beat him (Barrera). With my youth and speed I think I?ll just outbox him.?
The fight will be Khan?s second since his stunning first round KO loss to unheralded Breidis Prescott last September 6. Khan ditched his trainer and moved to Roach?s Wild Card Gym where he sparred a few times with Pacquiao who was preparing for the Oscar De La Hoya fight in Las Vegas on December 6.
With the confidence gained from his Wild Card stint, Khan smashed Irishman Olsin Fagan to win by a third round knockout on December 6, 2008 to improve his record to 19-1 with 15 knockouts.
The 35 year old Barrera has a record of 64-6 with 43 knockouts. He is coming off a four round demolition over the clearly overmatched Sammy Ventura last November 7 in Chengdu, China in a fight that was regarded as a farce.
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