Roach was speaking ahead of Khan’s fight against Terence Crawford on Saturday
Amir Khan’s former trainer Freddie Roach has backed the British fighter to potentially surprise unbeaten American Terence Crawford at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, but said that Khan needs to “realise he doesn’t have a great chin” and fight accordingly.
Speaking to JOE ahead of the pair’s fight in New York on Saturday night, the legendary trainer who worked with Khan between 200 8and 2012 said that it is not beyond the realms of possibility for him to defeat the Omaha native.
“I’ve always said that if Amir Khan just goes out there one round at a time and doesn’t try to go for the knockout and just boxes smartly like he can for 12 rounds then he can win,” said Roach, though he admitted that Crawford – in his opinion the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world – is the strong favourite.
“I think Khan can upset this guy. He just has to realise he doesn’t have a great chin, and he has to protect it. He’s very capable of doing that.”
One man who does not believe Khan is capable of winning the fight however is fellow British boxer Kell Brook, who told JOE that he feels “it’s just a matter of time before Crawford gets his rhythm, breaks him down and stops him”.
Watch Amir Khan face Terence Crawford exclusively live on BT Sport Box Office, Saturday 20th April. For more information www.bt.com/btsportboxoffice
