Despite 32-year-old British boxer Amir Khan claiming that he will be facing eight-time champion Filipino athlete Manny Pacquiao for his next fight after his World Boxing Council international welterweight title fourth-round gain last Saturday, Pacquiao’s party denied the statement made on Tuesday, July 16.
Initially, Khan told the media that he will be returning to Saudi Arabia on November 8. In his words to British radio station TalkSport, “The next fight is going to be back in Saudi Arabia, it is going to be in Riyadh this time and it is going to be on 8th November. Hopefully it could be the Manny Pacquiao fight, we have both signed and the fight is done and hopefully, he gets past his fight on the weekend then we go and do that fight,” referring to the Filipino boxer’s upcoming match against Keith Thurman on July 20. The 2004 Olympic silver medalist added, “If not, there will be other back-up plans but we wish Manny Pacquiao all the very best for this weekend’s fight.”
However, the former Filipino senator’s publicist Fred Sternberg stated that nothing is set in stone about this match, telling BBC, “Manny has not signed any contract. As far as I know, it has not even been discussed. He has been in training camp for the past eight weeks, four in the Philippines and four in the United States, and he hasn’t met Amir Khan during that time.” Pacquiao has been in Los Angeles for training sessions for the past few months for his upcoming fight with Thurman at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
When asked where the initial talk about a deal sparked from, Sternberg added, “That’s a question you need to ask Amir Khan.”
Khan currently has 34 wins and five defeats under his belt, while Pacquiao stands with 61 wins, seven losses, and two draws.