Amir Khan has been watching Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. closely over the past several months as he is very interested in facing both boxing superstars.
Based on what he saw from both fighters in their previous fights, Khan thinks Mayweather will win over Pacquiao in their highly anticipated showdown on May 2 at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Khan believes Mayweather, who will look to improve his record to 48-0 in the biggest fight of his career, will be smarter than never before on Cinco de Mayo weekend, knowing that Pacquiao is capable of knocking him out.
"I think Mayweather will take the fight," Khan told Sky Sports. "He will be much smarter and he'll pick his shots a little bit better. He'll make it a little boring at times because Manny, as we know, is a come-forward fighter who likes to do a lot of punches. But Mayweather will try to avoid all those punches."
Mayweather, the reigning World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association welterweight champion, is coming off two consecutive victories against Marcos Maidana last year. Maidana managed to push Mayweather to the limit, particularly in the first fight, with his aggressiveness throughout the fight.
Khan believes Pacquiao will also try to pressure Mayweather every second of the match, but he also thinks the reigning pound-for-pound king might make it more interesting by also surprising Pacquiao with his aggressive approach instead of relying on his vaunted wall-like defense.
"I've been watching Mayweather train on social media and he has been training very hard so he might come up with a different game plan this fight, something that we have not seen before," Khan added. "He might put pressure on Manny Pacquiao to show that 'look your pressure does not work against me' so it's going to be a good fight to see."
While he thinks Mayweather will win over his nemesis on May 2, Khan does not believe that it will be a walk in the park for the unbeaten champion. He believes that "Fight of the Century" will be a close encounter, and he will not be surprised if Pacquiao and Mayweather agree to stage a rematch later this year.
Khan said that the rematch, which is also expected to be as big as the upcoming fight in terms of media coverage and projected revenue, could be the last fight of both fighters, especially if Mayweather wins in both fights.
