Former two-time world champion Amir Khan says that if Floyd Mayweather won’t fight Manny Pacquiao, he’d be happy to step into the breach.
As rumblings of long-anticipated Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather fight have heated up again over the last month, there is one interested observer who love to step into the ring if the undefeated Mayweather won’t.
British fighter Amir Khan, a former two-time light welterweight champion, told The Guardian that he and Pacquiao could designate a percentage of a potential prize purse to charities if a fight could be set up.
More from Boxing
- Limited-Time FanDuel Boxing Promo: $200 Bonus for ANY Bet on Baumgardner vs Linardatou
- Rays vs. Diamondbacks prediction and odds for Thursday, June 29 (Take the OVER)
- DraftKings Boxing Promo GUARANTEES $200 on Lopez vs Taylor (Plus, Win an Extra $200+ in Five States!)
- Industry’s BIGGEST Boxing Promo Unlocks $2,500 Bonus Betting on Lopez vs Taylor at FanDuel
- Turn $5 Into $200 Betting on Claressa Shields With DraftKings Boxing Promo (-8000 Odds Usually Pays out 6 Cents!)
Khan is also pursuing a date with Mayweather for this year, but says a Khan-Pacquiao main event could also be a huge draw.
“If Floyd Mayweather doesn’t want to fight me this year, Pacquiao and I could fight—we could get it on in the USA, in the UK, in Dubai or even Macao, where he fights once a year.
“And perhaps if the fight between me and Pacquiao takes place, we could do something for the better and show what boxing can do for the world.”
Khan pointed out that he and Pacquiao are both committed to humanitarian causes outside the ring. In Khan’s case, he recently visited Peshawar, the Pakistani city where 132 children at a school were killed by militants less than a month ago.
Khan won the WBA light welterweight title in July 2009 with a unanimous decision over Andreas Kotelnik in Manchester, England, and defended the title five times, picking up the IBF version of the belt when he knocked out Zab Judah in the fifth round of their July 2011 fight at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.
However, Khan lost the belts in his next fight in Washington in December 2010 when he lost a split decision to Lamont Peterson.
In July 2012, he challenged Danny Garcia for the WBC light welterweight crown, along with vacant The Ring title at that weight, but lost in a fourth-round technical knockout.
He has won his last four fights—a 10th-round TKO of Carlos Molina in December 2012 and three straight unanimous decisions, over Julio Diaz (April 2013), Luis Collazo (May 3) and Devon Alexander (Dec. 13).
Khan is 30-3 with 19 knockouts. His only other loss came when he was knocked out in the first round by Breidis Prescott in September 2008, snapping a string of 19 straight wins.
Mayweather-Pacquiao was the fight the world wanted to see … five years ago. But with Mayweather turning 38 in February and Pacquiao just having turned 36 last month, it’s lost some of the luster it would have had if they had met in their primes.
Pacquiao has lost two of his last five fights, after all, but did score unanimous decisions over Timothy Bradley (avenging his June 2012 loss) in April and over Chris Algieri in November to retain the WBO welterweight belt.
Mayweather also fought twice last year, scoring a majority decision over Marcos Maidana in May and a unanimous decision in a rematch with Maidana in September to improve his career record to 47-0.
More from FanSided
- Joe Burrow owes Justin Herbert a thank you note after new contract
- Chiefs gamble at wide receiver could already be biting them back
- Braves-Red Sox start time: Braves rain delay in Boston on July 25
- Yankees: Aaron Boone gives optimistic return date for Aaron Judge
- MLB Rumors: Yankees-Phillies trade showdown, Mariners swoop, India goes to Seattle