Amir Khan spars with Pacquiao, predicts Manny victory

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Popular British lightweight Amir Khan visited Manny Pacquiao at his Hollywood gym Saturday and sparred for eight rounds with the world lightweight champion, who’s preparing for his Dec. 6 super fight against Oscar De La Hoya.

‘Manny’s in great shape -- very explosive, very fast, you don’t know where his punches are coming from. He’s got a good chance to beat Oscar,’ said Khan, 21, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist who’s 18-1 with 14 knockouts but coming off a stunning first-round knockout loss to Breidis Prescott in England.

Khan, pictured above, also fights again on Dec. 6, in London.

Before then, Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach summoned the 5-foot-11 Khan to his Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.

‘I’m very quick, with a good jab like Oscar, and I’m taller than Manny, like Oscar,’ Khan told The Times on Monday in a telephone interview from Wild Card. ‘It’ll make Manny think about what’s coming.’

But Khan said his first-person observations make him believe Pacquiao can compensate for his move up from lightweight (135 pounds) to the De La Hoya limit of 147.

‘Manny’s so sharp and quick. Speed is power,’ Khan said. ‘Manny’s got a good chin to handle what Oscar throws at him. He’ll just be too explosive for Oscar, and he’s a big puncher himself.’

-- Lance Pugmire