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Courtesy: Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Virgil Hunter was busy broadcasting fights Saturday night when Amir Khan and Manny Pacquiao confirmed through social media that they’ve come to an agreement to fight April 23.
Once he learned the fight figures to happen in two months, Hunter had a lot less hesitation about Khan taking this difficult assignment than when Khan agreed to fight Canelo Alvarez. Hunter considers Khan’s familiarity with Pacquiao and the fact that England’s Khan will be the bigger boxer in this fight as advantages he didn’t have against Alvarez.
The 30-year-old Khan (31-4, 19 KOs) hasn’t fought since Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) knocked him unconscious in the sixth round of their middleweight title fight May 7 in Las Vegas. He was negotiating last month with promoter Eddie Hearn to face fellow Brit Kell Brook (36-1, 25 KOs) in a welterweight fight that would’ve done big business in England.
Once those negotiations ended and Brook instead agreed to make a mandatory defense of his IBF welterweight title against American Errol Spence Jr. (21-0, 18 KOs), Khan became an option for Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs). The Filipino legend didn’t want to fight unknown Australian Jeff Horn (16-0-1, 11 KOs), the option presented by promoter Bob Arum, and instead negotiated with Khan.
Their fight could take place in the United Arab Emirates, either in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, because investors there reportedly have offered a $38 million guarantee if Pacquiao-Khan takes place in the UAE.
Hunter isn’t worried about Khan being off for nearly a year between fights against Alvarez and Pacquiao. He needed a long break after suffering such a brutal knockout.
Khan also has been training at King’s Boxing Gym in Oakland, California, Hunter’s gym, for nearly two months.
“Amir has a style where he doesn’t show rust,” Hunter said, “because he’s not a timing fighter and he’s not an instinctive fighter. He just reacts. He’s a reactive fighter, so he doesn’t show rust. I think he showed that in the [Alvarez] fight. I believe that night he would’ve gave any welterweight a big problem, the way he fought. He’s shown that time and time again, so I’ll ride with him. He dares to take those chances. But at least he’s getting compensated for it.”
Making the most money possible for the biggest fights obviously is important to Khan while some of his physical prime remains. That’s why Hunter isn’t so sure an interim bout between the Alvarez and Pacquiao fights would’ve been a smarter move than heading directly into the Pacquiao fight.
“At this stage of his career, a duck could knock him off,” Hunter said. “So why even fight a duck? [A duck] could knock him off if he’s not motivated, for a small amount of money. He’ll be motivated for Pacquiao. And in Dubai, we can’t come in there half-stepping, a Muslim country.
“And he’s been in camp for the last six weeks, maybe eight. He’s been in the Bay Area for a while, training, getting the conditioning, not even knowing if there’s a fight. So that’ll be four months [of training] by the time [the fight] comes around. I know he’ll be in condition. He actually sparred the other day [against Mario Barrios], and I liked the way he looked.”
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