"I didn't say one thing about Manny Pacquiao. I always said Manny Pacquiao's got main priority over me and I respect that. It was after the Garcia loss. I had two losses, back to back, so I had to make a change in my life. That's all it was. I never ever said to him that you've got Parkinson's disease and you're doing bad," stated former world champion Amir Khan, who responded to recent comments made by Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach. In a video interview, Roach admitted that he was holding a grudge against Khan because he didn't like the manner in which he was fired over two years ago. According to Roach, Khan wanted to be made a higher priority over Manny Pacquiao, but when Roach refused to do that, Khan parted ways with him, suggesting the trainer's battle with Parkinson's disease was affecting his abilities. In a recent conversation with FightHype.com, however, Khan strongly disputed Roach's claim and gave the following account of what transpired when the two parted ways.
AMIR KHAN:
I was so respectful to him and I was so honest with him that I sat with him over breakfast and said, "Look Freddie, I think I'm going to change. I might come back one day, you never know, but I think for me, for my future, it's going to be better to move away." And also, I wanted to leave LA because the lifestyle was getting a little crazy for me. It was a such a busy gym. The gyms I like are quiet and I get my one-to-one training. I wasn't getting that. I was honest with him. I mean, look, you can even sit me next to him and I'll say that to him. I have nothing bad to say about Freddie, he's a great trainer, but I've never said that it was his Parkinson's Disease. I've never said that and I never will because I respect him to still be a trainer with Parkinson's disease and get through it. I respect him for that, so I never would bring that up or put him down. He's a true champion being one of the best trainers with Parkinson's.
So it had nothing to do with Manny Pacquiao. I have respect for Manny Pacquiao and I respect Freddie for being a great trainer, but I never mentioned Parkinson's disease. He had Parkinson's disease when I won my first world title. He had Parkinson's disease when I first started with him. He had Manny Pacquiao when I first started with him and I was a nobody. Why would I go to him and say, "I don't want Manny to be there. I want to be over him. I want more time." I mean, I'm the most humble. You can ask anyone in that Wild Card gym. I was the only fighter who used to walk in, stay quiet, head down, just do my training, and leave. I never used to argue with anyone; I never used to talk to anyone. I used to go do my training and leave. I used to only have three or four people with me in training camp. My brother, my dad and my uncle, and my mate, Saj. Other than that, we used to have a small camp. We used to come in there quietly and leave quietly. That's how it was. Ask Chavez. Ask Alex Ariza. No one can ever say that Amir was one of those fighters who thought too much of himself or said that he should get more.
I sat in front of him and spoke about my future, and it had nothing to do with Manny Pacquiao or his Parkinson's. It was only that I wanted to move to a different trainer, learn different things, and work on the defense. It was nothing but defense.
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