MANILA, Philippines – Top Rank Inc. chief Bob Arum is considering pitting Manny Pacquiao against British star Amir Khan sometime next year.
Speaking to veteran boxing scribe Gareth Davis of The Telegraph, Arum said Khan – who has been harping about a fight with Pacquiao after getting shunned again by Floyd Mayweather Jr. – has caught his attention.
"This kid Amir Khan keeps shooting his mouth off about Manny Pacquiao. I can arrange for Khan to fight Pacquiao," he told Davis.
Khan’s hopes to finally land a megabuck match with Mayweather again went down the drain after the undefeated American Andre Berto to be his next opponent for what’s expected to be his final fight this September.
That leaves Khan with no other option but to turn his attention to Pacquiao, who remains a bankable figure despite losing to Mayweather last May in boxing’s richest fight.
Now, Arum has gone on record that Khan might get his wish.
"Amir Khan has been begging Mayweather for a fight and now he can get a major fight. I'm not a hard guy to deal with. I'm not going to mess them around," the ageless promoter continued.
"One thing's for sure, Pacquiao is not ducking Khan. Pacquiao will fight him. I don't know if Khan will fight Pacquiao, but it's available."
Pacquiao and Khan consider themselves as friends, with the latter even serving as the former’s sparring partner before. Khan also used to train with Pacquiao’s longtime cornerman Freddie Roach.
Arum, for his part, thinks a Pacquiao-Khan showdown will be a good matchup.
"It's a good fight. Manny beats him, though, in my opinion. Manny is getting up in age, so you never know what's going to happen. But I think he hits too hard for Khan," he added.
"I want to go in and make a deal with the guy. I'm happy to have lunch with them and discuss the situation." - Dino Maragay