Freddie Roach identified aspects of Amir Khan’s performance against Marco Antonio Barrera which will preclude him from fighting from a world title fight just yet. “He’s not ready,” said Roach. Khan was told by Roach that he would be better off sparring with Manny Pacquiao for the present.
Although many believe the 22 year-old Bolton fighter has put himself back into the limelight for a shot at one of the four major lightweight belts with what was a clear performance of class over the legendary Mexican, there are still chinks in the armour.
Roach feels the Athens Olympics silver medallist needs two more training camps, and two more fights, both with a step up in class, before the young tyro challenges for a world crown.
Roach insists Khan still needs to work on his defence and feels he dropped his left hand too often against Barrera. “We’ve got to sit down and assess what we do next,” said the American. “We possibly might take a few more fights first to improve on his game a little more.
“Even though he fought a very good fight against Barrera, he made a few mistakes in there and I’ll show him the tape and show him where he dropped his hands a little bit.We’re not perfect yet, but we’re getting there.”
