Pacquiao target stays in Khan’s crosshairs

CEBU, Philippines —   Former unified light welterweight champion Amir Khan yearns for two more fights before hanging up his gloves for good.

And he wants it to be a big hit against any top caliber fighter willing to rumble with him.

With this in mind, Khan admits that Pinoy ring star Manny Pacquiao remains a prime target that has long been in his crosshairs.

But Khan made it clear that he will not force himself into securing that match.

 “I’m not going to chase it,” Khan told BT Sport, referring to a possible showdown with Pacquiao. “If it falls into my lap, then I’ll take it. What a fight that would be. There’s so much we can talk about in that fight because we trained together, and we sparred over 300 or 400 rounds of sparring with each other."

Some years back, Khan and Pacquiao worked out  together under Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood. That perhaps gave him the confidence that he can deal with, and has the capacity to take down boxing's only eight-division world champion.

“We know each other quite well. Yeah, man, I’d love that fight. I think I know a lot about him, and he knows a lot about me. That would be another good one, but if it happens…There’s always been talk about it, but it’s never seemed to materialize,” said Khan.

The British champ also flatly denied rumors that he was knocked down by Pacquiao during sparring. He did admit though that they hurt each other.

“I was never put down by Manny Pacquiao…We hurt each other in sparring," said Khan, while praising at the same time Pacquiao's speed and quickness.

"Manny didn’t spar anyone that was as quick as me, and that could move that well and the height as well. I was a lot taller than him. At the same time, I never fought anyone as quick as Manny Pacquiao and could move like him,” he added.