Manny Pacquiao is going to be heavily favored over WBO junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri when they battle for Pacquiao's WBO welterweight title, but Amir Khan, a potential opponent for Pacquiao in the future, believes he's past his prime.
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"The relentlessness, power and explosiveness are all gone with Pacquiao and he's not like he used to be," Khan told ESPN. "The power he had when he knocked out the likes of Ricky Hatton, you don't see that now because he's boxing more than he used to."
Khan's observation is backed up by Pacquiao's string of eight consecutive fights without a knockout. Pacquiao is 6-2 in those eight bouts, losing one of them by knockout against Juan Manuel Marquez. While Algieri is not a big name, he may be difficult for Pacquiao to stop. His style involves a lot of movement, and he has major height and reach advantages.
Khan cited recent bouts with fighters he believes a prime Pacquiao would have run through as evidence of his decline.
"In his last four fights, Brandon Rios was made for Pacquiao and the Tim Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez fights took a lot out of him. He's getting older - he's 35 - and he's got a lot of distractions in his life now. He's staying in the Philippines to train now and you can see people are pulling him here, there and everywhere. He's also getting into politics," Khan said.
He also offered his thoughts on the Pacquiao-Algieri matchup, giving the edge to the Pacman despite acknowledging his fall from the very top of boxing's summit.
Algieri's style suits him, but Pacquiao's last few performances have not been the best," Khan said. "He has been caught a bit and it might be tough for him this next one. I still favor more towards Manny and I think it will go the distance, but Algieri might surprise a few people with his performance."
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