Amir Khan wins in England and calls out Manny Pacquiao
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 09 Sep 2018
Moments after scoring a Unanimous Decision victory in his home country of England, Amir Khan made it crystal clear who he wanted to fight next.
It was his former sparring mate and the boxing legend from the Philippines.
?Manny Pacquiao is who I want. I want Manny Pacquiao.?
Khan, fighting in front of his hometown fans at the Birmingham Arena in the United Kingdom, had to get off the canvas in the second round after Colombian Samuel Vargas (29-4-2, 14 KOs) caught him with a big right. This came after he sent Vargas down earlier in the round.
The British boxer from Bolton, Lancashire sent his opponent down again in the 3rd and was close in stopping Vargas in the 5th but the Colombian fighter survived both rounds.
It was a cruise afterwards for Khan who garnered scores of 119-108, 119-109, 118-10 for his second comeback victory after his brutal knockout from Saul ?Canelo Alvarez in 2016.
But Pacquiao is not the only big name that is being linked to Khan. His countryman and rival Kelly Brook is a name that has been mentioned for years now.
Brook, who was at ringside in Birmingham for this fight is a stable mate of Khan under Eddie Hearn?s Matchroom Boxing.
Khan mentioned Brook in the post fight interview but made it clear that Pacquiao is his number one target.
?There?s a massive demand (on the Brook fight) but the only fight that works for me over Kell Brook is Manny Pacquiao. Manny Pacquiao is my number one pick.?
Pacquiao is fresh from a rousing stoppage of Lucas Matthysse last July in Kuala Lumpur to become the World Boxing Association champ at welterweight.
A fight between the two former sparring partners at the Wild Card Gym of their previous common coach has been circulating for some time now. Before Pacquiao?s fight against Matthysse, there were heavy talks about the two sharing the ring in the Middle East.
Photo: Amir Khan sends Samuel Vargas to the canvas during their 12-round fight at Arena Birmingham in Birmingham, England Saturday night.
You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com and @Freemazon910 on Twitter.
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