MANILA, Philippines – If a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. can’t be made, Manny Pacquiao is setting his sights on Amir Khan.
The British boxer has become to frontrunner to face Pacquiao in case a megabuck duel with Mayweather remains elusive. The Filipino icon has given Mayweather until the end of the month to agree to the terms for a May 2 showdown.
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But if Mayweather won’t sign, Pacquiao is ready to move on.
“I truly don’t believe that Floyd is going to step up to the plate and fight us because he doesn’t give two [expletive] about his fans,” Pacquiao’s adviser Mike Koncz recently told RingTV.com’s Lem Satterfield.
“We’re not going to sit around waiting for him. We haven’t closed the door on it, but we’re not going to sit around waiting, so we’re looking at other options,” he added.
Negotiations for a hotly anticipated Mayweather-Pacquiao gained steamed the past few weeks, but the excitement again begins to fizzle given the lack of positive response from Mayweather’s camp.
Pacquiao’s camp, for their part, are prepared for plan B – a clash with Khan, who interestingly used to spar with the fighting congressman and train under Freddie Roach.
Koncz, in the same Ringtv.com interview, said they have already established communication with Khan regarding a possible match.
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“That includes Amir. I’ve spoken to Amir on a couple of occasions, and Golden Boy has talked to him, too, I talked to Amir directly before [Golden Boy Promotions President] Oscar [De La Hoya] and [Top Rank CEO] Bob [Arum] got involved. We’re not going to sit around with our hands up our butts,” Pacquiao’s close adviser explained.
A former world champion at lightweight and super lightweight, Khan is riding on the momentum of a four-fight winning streak. He wants either Mayweather or Pacquiao next, and with a volatile chin – he’s been knocked down several times in his career – Khan makes a compelling match for Pacquiao.
Nevertheless, a Pacquiao-Khan bout is no match to a Mayweather-Pacquiao megafight, and that’s why Koncz said getting a date with the Las Vegas-based boxer remains a priority.
“But just because we’re looking at other options doesn’t mean that we’ve slammed the door on Floyd either. But I’m not very optimistic that he’s going to step up to the plate. We’re going to fight in April or May, regardless of whether it’s Floyd or somebody else,” said Koncz.
“We’re not going to sit around and let our world revolve around Floyd waiting for him to make a decision. We hope that he does the right thing and gives the fans what they want and see who the No. 1 fighter is, pound-for-pound. But I think that the only way to force that fight is that the fans are going to have to force it. We can’t do any more,” he ended. – Dino Maragay