Khan says Mosley tough to break down

MANILA, Philippines - WBA lightwelterweight champion Amir Khan of England said the other day Sugar Shane Mosley won’t be an easy opponent for Manny Pacquiao but there’s no doubt in his mind that the Filipino icon will win their fight in Las Vegas on May 7.

“Mosley is very tough to break down,” said Khan who spent three weeks in Baguio training alongside Pacquiao with Freddie Roach last month. “I think Manny will beat him on points and may even stop him in the late rounds.”

Khan, 24, is now tapering off for his title defense against unbeaten Irish southpaw Paul McCloskey in Manchester this Saturday (Sunday morning, Manila time). Roach is expected to work Khan’s corner.

While in the country, Khan sparred with three Filipinos – Dennis Laurente, Jay Solmiano and Adonis Cabalquinto. He also traded punches with David Rodela, one of Pacquiao’s sparring “imports” from Oxnard, California. Cabalquinto and Solmiano, both undefeated, had five sparring sessions each in two weeks with Khan. Laurente, unbeaten in his last 14 bouts, sparred four rounds with Khan at the Elorde gym in Sucat and 14 in Baguio.

Khan flew in with his uncle Taz and friend Bill Singh. It was his second visit to the Philippines.

“I love the Philippines,” said Khan. “The Filipino people are very friendly and make you feel at home. The support they show is unbelievable. The fans are great.”

Khan said training with Pacquiao has given him a huge lift. “Manny is pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world,” he said.

“It’s a dream come true training with him. We give it our all every training session and push each other all the way.”

Although Khan and Pacquiao didn’t spar here, they’ve mixed it up in the ring during previous camps under Roach’s supervision.

“Freddie is the best (trainer) in the world and he has proved it with all his fighters,” said Khan, a silver medalist in the 2004 Athens Olympics. “We improve on everything everyday. There’s no limit.”

After his fight against Marcos Maidana last December, Khan decided to replace conditioning coach Alex Ariza. Roach hired Michael Vale to join the Wild Card staff in Los Angeles last July and early this year, assigned him to work with Khan.

“It’s all pretty much the same as Alex used to do,” said Khan. “A few tweaks here and there and a few new exercises. Everything is working fine at the moment. I feel very strong and very sharp.”

Khan said he’s not taking the 31-year-old McCloskey lightly. “He’s a very tricky opponent with good reflexes,” said Khan. “I would love to stop him but if I win on a decision, that’s fine, too. The fight is going to be like a chess match.”

At 5-10, Khan is slightly taller than the 5-8 1/2 McCloskey who has a record of 22-0, with 12 KOs. Khan’s record is 24-1, with 17 KOs. Since losing to Colombian Breidis Prescott on a shock first round knockout in 2008, Khan hooked up with Roach and has won six in a row, including a fifth round technical decision over Marco Antonio Barrera and an 11th round stoppage of Paul Malignaggi.

“I’d love a rematch (with Prescott) but he has to get some good wins under his belt,” said Khan. “He hasn’t really done anything since he beat me. I’m glad he beat me as it was a blessing in disguise.” The loss awakened Khan and led him to Roach. A year later, Khan defeated Andriy Kotelnik to win the WBA lightwelterweight crown. Prescott has compiled a 3-2 record since the Khan bout, losing decisions to Kevin Mitchell and Miguel Vazquez. Prescott hasn’t fought since outpointing Harrison Cuello in Chicago last August.

In the Bolton News, Khan said he found no shortage of southpaws to spar with him. “I’ve finished my hard couple of weeks and I had to do it in the Philippines,” he said. “Normally, my camp is in LA but because of Manny, we flew over there. Sparring is about learning. If you don’t do it in sparring, you’re not going to end up doing it in the fight. It’s good to do everything in sparring. Things you think might work for you and things that might not. But as long as you know and you’ve experienced it, when you go in the real fight, you know what to do.”

Laurente, 33, provided Khan with his toughest sparring in the Philippines.

“Amir fights like Oscar de la Hoya,” said Laurente. “He uses the left jab a lot which is good. He has very fast hands. He likes to fight in and out. He throws a lot of combinations. He also has good defense. In our sparring, for every five punches I threw, I landed about two or three. I tried to put pressure on him. He has good movement, he backs up, goes side to side. He’s frisky and very hard-working. I think he can still improve on his power. Some of his punches lack impact. I held my own against him. Freddie and Taz thanked me for doing a good job after every sparring session.”