Amir Khan Still Hopes To Fight Manny Pacquiao When He Returns To Boxing In April
British boxing star Amir Khan has announced his return to boxing with a fight to be scheduled in April in Liverpool. This will mark the end of his two-year hiatus after his defeat from the then WBC middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in May 2016. Among the names of the possible opponents is his former sparring partner and eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao.
Amir Khan, 31 years old, has signed a three-fight deal with British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn. His first fight is expected to be on April 21 at The Echo Arena in Liverpool with an opponent yet to be named. It will also mark his first boxing fight in the United Kingdom in seven years. Having a record of 31-4, 19 knockouts, Khan wants to prove he can still fight for a world title again. He held the WBA belt from 2009 to 2012 and the IBF version in 2011. One of the big names he wants to fight is the Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, who he had trained side by side for years under coach Freddie Roach.
“To fight someone like him… would be amazing…. I would love that.”
In an interview with Sky Sports, Khan said the 39-year-old still got a few fights left in him despite his two defeats in the past two years. He added that he remains to be one of the top fighters in the welterweight division, according to BoxingScene.com.
“To fight someone like him and to be in the same ring as someone like him would be amazing. He’s a legend in the sport already, but he still wants to keep on fighting. Imagine being put in the ring with him would be something, I would love that,” Khan said.
Khan Still Wants Pacquiao: I'd Love That, It Would Be Amazing https://t.co/agzYGW75gQ #boxing pic.twitter.com/liasIQMDIi
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) January 14, 2018
Last year, the Pacquiao vs. Khan fight fell out, and Khan revealed he thought it was the end of his career. “When that fight didn’t happen it put me on a really bad downer. I thought ‘where am I going to go from here’. I really put all my eggs in one basket and thought ‘this is the fight I really want,'” Khan told Sun Sport. Pacquiao is also set to return to boxing in April this year.
Hearn is confident Khan will be able to attract big names in the boxing scene, saying that he is one of the biggest names in this sport. Hearn reveals that after the match in April, the plan is to box again in August or September to prepare him for a super fight in winter 2018, as reported by Express.co.uk. He also said that the target is to provide Khan with the biggest fights possible. In addition to Pacquiao, other names in the list include Keith Thurman, Errol Spence Jr., Terence Crawford and Kell Brook.
“I want the big names. I don’t want the easy fights, but then again I want to see how I feel and how my body feels. I want to fight whoever is at the top, that’s the type of fighter I am,” Khan added.
