Amir Khan vs. Manny Pacquiao Boxing Match: Why is Khan Eager to Fight His Friend?
Amir Khan is still aching for a shot against Floyd Mayweather Jr., but the Briton is ready to move on in case his dream bout against the reigning pound-for-pound king will not happen.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Khan, who is coming off a unanimous decision win against Luis Collazo in May, said that he wants to face his good friend and former sparring mate Manny Pacquiao in 2015.
Khan, who regularly trained with the Filipino boxing icon when he was still under Freddie Roach, said he believes that a showdown between him and Pacquiao will do good numbers because of the intriguing storyline for the bout.
"Manny Pacquiao is another name. What a great story line that would make. Amir Khan fighting his old sparring partner and friend, Manny Pacquiao," Khan said. "Freddie Roach used to train me, so there's a lot of history there. That would be a huge fight."
The 27-year-old Briton also likes his chances against the former pound-for-pound king, saying that he knows that to expect from Pacquiao, whom he still considers as one of the top fighters in the world.
"I know what to expect from Manny Pacquiao," said Khan, who holds a 29-3 record with 19 knockout wins. "We used to get the better of him in sparring and everything. Manny Pacquiao is still the same fighter. I still have a lot of respect for him, he's a great fighter, but these are the fights I want."
But before thinking about a possible big-money fight against Mayweather or Pacquiao, Khan needs to overcome another hurdle as he is set to return to the ring in December where an impressive win could finally give him the fight that he has been chasing.
Khan said that they already have a short list of possible opponents, which includes Devon Alexander and Robert Guerrero. Andre Berto is also being mentioned as possible opponents, and the Bolton, England, native also sounded open to the idea of facing his current stablemate.
"For December we're looking at a few names, the likes of Alexander, Guerrero," Khan said. "Berto has also been mentioned but we train together, so that would be quite hard. I like Berto, he's a good friend of mine. But I'm one of those guys -- I'll never say 'no' to a fight. I'll take whoever they decide to put me against"
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com