Into the boxing gym that livens up the third floor of one idiosyncratic hotel in Baguio City walked a star, but no, not that star.
His movie-star face seemed displaced at first, like one of those dreams in which familiar people turn up in kooky places.
You mean way up here in the northern Philippines, and … Amir Khan?
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The Manny Pacquiao Story
• Interactive: The Manny Pacquiao story
• Part one of the Pacquiao story: In Mannyland
• Part two of the Pacquiao story: Unchanged by fame
• Part three of the Pacquiao story: Team Pacquiao
• Part four of the Pacquiao story: A bittersweet farewell
• He's the best, but Manny Pacquiao is still learning to be better
__________________________________________
Oh wait, wait, of course, as Khan, too, trains with Freddie Roach and Khan, too, has a fight upcoming, this very Saturday evening in Manchester.
So on the Baguio afternoons of late March, after the Manny Pacquiao clamour would hush and sometimes adjourn upstairs for that star's basketball obsession, Khan would follow Pacquiao into the ring with Roach.
Nearly everybody would leave, and there would train an accomplished young man with a big life and an Olympic silver medal and a personable tenor.
"Amir Khan," he would walk up and say to strangers, extending a hand for introduction.
Yes, he certainly, verifiably is Amir Khan. Unmistakable, especially if you ever resided in the UK, where you might wake and see him chatting on a BBC sofa and reckon that when they handed out the charisma he got in line thrice.
At 24, he mines the path toward his own prime in the vicinity of a certain Filipino fighter amid a prime sublime.
"I think Manny's a great model for him," Roach says.
Before getting to Pacquiao in Las Vegas on May 7, Roach has Khan in Manchester against Paul McCloskey, and Khan has one of the better weekends of his life.
He will fight again before his fans in the north west of England. And the Bolton Wanderers he has adored pretty much from birth will play a humongous Bolton moment against Stoke City in an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium.
On his website this week, Khan proclaimed himself "quicker than I've ever felt" and said of Pacquiao, "He gave me some great words of advice that I'm going to take into this fight."
He is a fighter progressing under Roach.
"You know, the turning point in Manny's career came with the Diaz fight, that was almost seven, eight years together at that point," Roach said, referring to Pacquiao's defeat of David Diaz in June 2008 during which Pacquiao's right hand complemented his left unprecedentedly.
"I'm probably in my third year with Amir, and I don't know if that will take seven, eight years, but maybe he'll be in his prime in maybe two or three.
"He's progressing, but he still has trouble with certain styles, certain adjustments. He's very athletic, like Manny - very fast, has speed and power. He has a lot of things that Manny has naturally, he just doesn't know how to use them to the best effect yet."
Khan became recognisable enough to grace BBC furniture during the Athens Olympics in 2004 with a lightweight silver medal at the age of 17.
He went along unbeaten until September 6, 2008, when the Colombian walloper Breidis Prescott changed that to beaten within 54 seconds.
From there, Khan moved from Jorge Rubio to Roach and to Los Angeles.
Roach's opening tactic? He put Khan in the ring with Pacquiao. His method: "Erase that loss," Roach says. "Fight the best fighter in the world, today."
If he could mingle competitively with the best fighter in the world - today! - it should shore up his confidence. And he did mingle competitively. They went five rounds, Roach says, and: "The first four rounds were about even to Amir having a slight edge. After four, Manny's brain takes over."
It must have been some sight in Roach's gym in Los Angeles, two big auras crammed into one ring, Pacquiao with his astounding storyline, Khan with the multicultural construct of England and Pakistan, and his frequent raving to Roach about the glories of Dubai.
"When they get in there," Roach says, "the intensity's way up, 'cause they've both got to be at their best to compete against each other."
Unprompted, he then speaks of any future fight between the two with, "I don't think that'll ever happen. Too much respect and friendship … I told Amir, I said, 'You can never say never, of course'."
It does turn out, though, that Khan's mind does sport a most encouraging aspect, relayed by someone not prone to sugarcoating.
"He's a really good student," Roach says. "He listens really well. He tries hard. He's an ideal student … I think his knowledge of boxing is so limited, that's why he listens so well. He's still like a kid at times."
That, Roach agrees, would not always be the case in the world, a young star knowing what he does not know, not bathing in his own stardom, walking up to introduce himself.
cculpepper@thenational.ae
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Match info
Karnataka Tuskers 110-3
J Charles 35, M Pretorius 1-19, Z Khan 0-16
Deccan Gladiators 111-5 in 8.3 overs
K Pollard 45*, S Zadran 2-18
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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FIRST TEST SCORES
England 458
South Africa 361 & 119 (36.4 overs)
England won by 211 runs and lead series 1-0
Player of the match: Moeen Ali (England)
Result
2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,950m; Winner: Majestic Thunder, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
2.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,600m; Winner: Native Appeal, Adam McLean, Doug Watson.
3.45pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,950m; Winner: Conclusion, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh100,000 1,400m; Winner: Pilgrim’s Treasure, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m; Winner: Sanad Libya, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,000m; Winner: Midlander, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
RESULTS
6.30pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Final Song, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m
Winner Almanaara, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Grand Argentier, Brett Doyle, Doug Watson.
8.15pm Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Major Partnership, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner Universal Order, Richard Mullen, David Simcock.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 258hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km
Price: from Dh362,500
On sale: now
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Turkey - because the government look after animals so well there.
Favourite film: I love scary movies. I have so many favourites but The Ring stands out.
Favourite book: The Lord of the Rings. I didn’t like the movies but I loved the books.
Favourite colour: Black.
Favourite music: Hard rock. I actually also perform as a rock DJ in Dubai.
Profile of Udrive
Date started: March 2016
Founder: Hasib Khan
Based: Dubai
Employees: 40
Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
