Pacquiao vs. Khan: Latest Details, Comments Surrounding Potential Fight
By Bleachers Report 26 Jan, 2015
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Khan Speaks on Possibly Fighting Pacquiao, Why He Covets Mayweather Bout
Monday, Jan. 26
Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan are both awaiting word from Floyd Mayweather Jr. about the plans for his next fight. If he decides to go in another direction, both possible opponents agree it could result in them facing off with each other instead.
Ben Thompson of FightHype.com conducted an interview with Khan. One of the topics discussed was Khan possibly fighting Pacquiao:
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End of the day, it's a fight that the public would want to see. What a great storyline it would make because of Freddie Roach, my old trainer. On top of that, he spoke about my last fight; I spoke about his last fight. He was very impressed with my last performance. He said he wants to fight the best guys in the 147-pound division and he really believes I'm one of them, so that's why he says, look, that fight between us would be a massive fight. He did say he would like to fight me. I said the same thing. We just spoke about his interest in the fight. I mean, we didn't really tweet or anything, but when people found out that me and Manny Pacquiao were at the gym together, it went crazy. There were so many people. We had to get a lot of security to take me in. I think it's good that Manny Pacquiao sees my pull power.
There's nothing standing in the way of making this fight happen. I mean, this fight is going to happen basically if both parties have agreed to it. Now it's all about just sitting down and maybe letting my lawyer take over now. But other than that, I mean, we've agreed to it. He wants it. I want it. He's okay with fighting me. I'm okay with fighting him. I can't see any problems coming in between making the fight.
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Khan also spoke about Mayweather and why he covets a fight with Mayweather:
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I know Floyd Mayweather just recently said that Amir Khan is not big enough. I mean, if he comes here and sees how big Amir Khan is, I think he'll know better. With the press, with the fans, I mean, even non-boxing fans know who Amir Khan is, so how can Floyd Mayweather say that Amir is not a big name. I'm sure Manny Pacquiao saw how big I am here and maybe that interested him in the fight also.
Obviously with Pacquiao, at one time, he was on the same level as Mayweather, but then he had a couple of losses recently. Mayweather never tasted defeat and beating a guy who has never tasted defeat is much bigger. Everyone thinks he's untouchable because he's not been beaten. I mean, obviously, we do agree that he's untouchable at the moment, but I really believe that beating someone like Mayweather would be a bigger win and much bigger than beating someone like Pacquiao.
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Arum Speaks on Potential Pacquiao vs. Khan Fight
Friday, Jan. 23:
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Dan Rafael of ESPN passed along confirmation from Top Rank CEO Bob Arum. He said Pac-Man would be willing to stage the fight in King Khan's native England.
Arum said if no Floyd fight that Manny will fight on May 30 on HBO PPV. Said he would consider going to England for a Khan fight.
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Jeff Powell of the Daily Mail provided comments from both fighters, who met at the Fitzroy Lodge Boxing Club in London on Friday. Khan left several possibilities open, including potential bouts with Pacquiao at Wembley Stadium or Abu Dhabi.
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"I've been looking at Wembley, which would be a great stage for me and Manny, and Abu Dhabi is very much in the running," he said. "It was great seeing Manny again. We talked a bit about old times and also about the future. Although we have this friendship, if fighting each other makes sense, then it can certainly happen."
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The eight-division world champion said his camp has done everything in its power to set up the long-awaited encounter with Mayweather. He conceded if it doesn't work out, he and Khan may put their friendship aside and fight each other.
"Yes, there's a big possibility, nothing personal, we're just doing our job in the ring," Pacquiao said. "It's not difficult for us because we respect each other and we're just doing our job in the ring."
It's an interesting situation because any combination of the three fighters would make for an intriguing bout. The boxing world is just forced to wait for Mayweather's camp to makes its choice before the rest of the dominoes fall into place.
Pacquiao is once again a top draw after it looked like he may be nearing the end following back-to-back losses to Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez. He's looked nothing short of dominant since then, however, scoring three straight victories by unanimous decision.
Khan suffered a lull of his own, losing to Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia, but he has also rebounded nicely with four straight wins. He's still waiting for his opportunity to fight one of the sport's biggest names. It sounds like that should finally happen one way or another next time out.
Pacquiao is quoted in the Daily Mail report stating they are expecting to receive further word from Mayweather by next week.
If that's the case, it won't be long before the boxing world gets a better outlook for the months ahead.