WILL PACQUIAO VS. KHAN FINALLY HAPPEN?
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 23 Jul 2018
Eleven-time world champion Manny Pacquiao has identified Amir Khan as a possible opponent for his next fight. Khan's name has been mentioned several times as a potential future foe even before Pacquiao's fight with Jeff Horn.
Khan made his comeback fight in April with a 39-second knockout win against Phil Lo Greco of Canada and will be back in September against Samuel Vargas of Colombia in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
The 2004 Olympic silver medalist has wanted to engage in big-revenue fights, and likewise become a world champion again. A match with Pacquiao could satisfy these targets for Khan, if the fighting senator could not come up a deal with other probable opponents Terence Crawford or Vasyl Lomachenko.
Khan is determined to face Pacquiao and is confident he can defeat the boxing legend, saying, "Sometimes you have to fight your friend."
Khan told TMZ that while he respected everything Pacquiao has done for boxing, he has the ability to beat his former Wild Card Gym stablemate.
"I've been around training with him for many years. But sometimes friends have to fight each other. I think it would make an explosive fight. ...Sometimes you put your friendship to the side; it's business. And when it's business you have to sometimes put it to the side and just go on with it," said Khan.
"I respect him. I think he's a great guy. What he's done in boxing?he's done great things here in this sport. So, you have to respect him for that, but sometimes you have to fight your friend...if you want to make it to the top...I respect him, but I know I can beat him as well," Khan added.
The 31-year-old Khan has recovered from his May 2016 knockout loss to Saul "Canelo" Alvarez when he defeated Phil Lo Greco at Liverpool's Echo Arena.
The Daily Mail's Jeff Powell reported Pacquiao sees Khan as the vehicle he needs to convince Mayweather to come out of retirement and return to the ring for a rematch.
Pacquiao is still the favorite to beat Khan and a blockbuster match between the two former sparmates could possibly lure Mayweather to a second encounter in Las Vegas.
But their promoters are not so interested on a Pacquiao-Khan showdown. Bob Arum, still Pacquiao's chief backer in the United States even if he is not promoting the WBA welterweight championship in Malaysia against Lucas Matthysse, would prefer Crawford or Lomachenko, both Top Rank fighters.
Eddie Hearn wants Khan to face Kell Brook, saying, "There is even more money for Amir in facing Kell in a British blockbuster."
Arum's interest is to propel either Crawford or Lomachenko into the pay-per-view heights using the world famous Pacquiao as a stepping stone.
Pacquiao knows that facing either of the two would imperil his dream of a multi-million dollar rematch with Mayweather and most likely forcing him into retirement. While fighting Khan would mean lesser danger.
Khan knows that if he loses to Brook his fantasy of a multi-million fight with Pacquiao would be over. But even if Pacquiao defeat him a final homecoming revenue raker of a fight against Brook is still feasible.
If Pacquiao's main priority is Mayweather rematch, he will demand to fight Khan in December and get back to boxing in America and Arum could not do otherwise.
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