Amir Khan has had a suspect chin for years. However, the Briton denies ever being knocked out by Manny Pacquiao.
During their years working with top trainer Freddie Roach, Khan was never “asleep on the floor” when trading blows with boxing legend Manny Pacquiao.
Firstly, the 35-year-old was forced to issue the denial through WBN after an ex-gym-mate, Dean Byrne, released what Khan says is a false statement.
Byrne described rumors which filled the Wild Card Gym as Khan and Pacquiao trained alongside each other during the early 2010s.
Amir Khan put to sleep by Manny Pacquiao
“I didn’t see it myself,” Byrne told Sky Sports about the situation. “Khan was all over the place on many occasions, and everybody at the gym knows it.
“I heard stories that he was asleep on the floor. I have heard that [happened],” he added.
The Irishman continued: “Khan’s chin is just like that. He is a great fighter, athlete, and super boxer, and his hand speed is so fast. But his chin? He hasn’t got a good chin.
“You can’t put muscles on your chin. Freddie wanted him to get in, get out, get in, get out. But Khan stays in the pocket for too long to please the crowd.
“Then he comes unstuck because of his chin.”
Denial
It didn’t take Khan long to respond to Byrne’s comments. He told World Boxing News exclusively: “I’ve been seeing reports that I got put down by Manny Pacquiao in sparring, which is not true.
“I have had some great sparring sessions. “I always look back at the times I had at the Wildcard Boxing Gym in Los Angeles.
“Manny was a great fighter and still is a great fighter. We must have done 300 or 400 rounds of sparring, and I never put down on him or hurt him in any way. We had some great sparring sessions.
“I was never put down or put to sleep by Manny Pacquiao. It’s ridiculous in some of the comments I’ve been reading.
“Look, no disrespect to Manny. We had some very competitive sparring sessions,” he said.
The Bolton man chased a possible fight with Pacquiao until his retirement after losing to Kell Brook. That event eluded him, as did a lucrative bout with Floyd Mayweather.
A fan poll chose Khan to face Mayweather in 2014. However, when Khan announced the fight first, Mayweather decided to veto the collision.
