I RECENTLY spoke to Amir Khan via telephone from LA ? unfortunately, he was in LA not me ? and the main body of the interview will appear in the May 7 Boxing News. Here, however, is a free, optional extra, focusing on Khan?s relationship with his superstar stablemate Manny Pacquiao.
Tell us a bit about sparring with Pacquiao.
The only sparring I ever had with Manny ? I think there?s a bit of it on YouTube actually ? was the first time I ever came to LA, after the defeat [to Breidis Prescott]. It was my first training camp, about two years ago. Since then I?ve never sparred with him but I can see myself coming on so much since the first session so I?d like to spar with him again just to see how much I?ve come on.
Why have you not sparred him since?
I think it?s been mainly the timing of the training camps. The one time we were training at the same time, I was fighting [Andreas] Kotelnik and I think he was fighting Ricky Hatton. But Manny?s a southpaw and Freddie didn?t want to put me in with a southpaw because I was training for an orthodox fighter and he didn?t want me to get confused. He wanted me to work with someone of the same style.
You said you haven?t sparred Manny for quite some time but being around such an elite-level boxer and someone who trains as hard as he does, how much of an influence is that on you?
It does give you that motivation; it pushes you so much, when you?re in the ring with someone like Manny or training alongside him. In the morning, you go for a run with him, you do your sprints with him and everything Manny does, I do. I keep up with Manny on everything, the pad sessions he does, the gym sessions, the running sessions, I keep up with him.
I think it?s just a rumour that people say he?s on drugs, because I keep up with everything he does. He?s just a hard-working fighter and that?s why he?s done so well in the game. But that gives you so much confidence when you work with a pound-for-pound world champion. I?m not on that level at the moment but just to have someone alongside you who is, gives you that confidence.
So for the people out there who do believe Manny is on performance enhancing drugs, what would you say to convince them it?s a load of rubbish?
I?ve seen how Manny trains and I?ve trained with him myself. I keep up with him in the mornings when we run, on the pad sessions and in the sparring sessions, so does that mean I?m on drugs as well? I think it?s just that Freddie?s got two fighters in the camp who are very fit and very athletic. We get pushed and keep up with our training and we train very hard. That?s why when we get in the ring it seems easy.
There?s other fighters who come to the gym and can?t keep up with me, and can?t keep up with Manny because they?re not as athletic as us.
I think when someone?s doing well in the game, there?s always negative things that people pick up on but I think it?s just nonsense. And another thing, Freddie wouldn?t allow it. If he found out a fighter was doing that, he?d throw them out of the gym, if he found out they were on drugs, because he?s totally against it.
