Dubai: British-Pakistani welterweight boxer Amir Khan has appealed to the UAE or Qatar to get in contact if they are interested in staging a possible showdown between himself and Filipino Manny Pacquiao next year.
Khan’s comments come after Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum said this week that the fight could happen somewhere in the Middle East in early 2016. Dubai was ruled out by the Top Rank CEO, leading many to identify Abu Dhabi or Doha as possible alternatives.
But Khan has now ended the speculation regarding potential locations after directly calling out the two GCC countries.
“Qatar is one that is interested in me fighting over there as well as Dubai and Abu Dhabi,” he told a Dubai-based radio station. “We need to hear from those guys, people from those countries and cities. So let’s wait and see.
“All the major sports are going over there now, so why not take boxing there? Starting off with Amir Khan versus Manny Pacquiao would be massive out there.
“There is a huge British expat community in the UAE, plus there are a lot of Pakistanis and Filipinos. We have huge followings around the world so I think it would be one of the biggest fights ever.”
Having been snubbed twice by Floyd Mayweather this year, Khan welcomed Arum’s offering of Pacquiao as an alternative opponent.
“Yes, I think the fight can happen,” he added. “If it makes sense financially for both of us then I think the fight will definitely take place.
“I think it makes sense for both of us to take it. It’s a great storyline because obviously Manny Pacquiao and I used to train together and we had the same trainer, Freddie Roach, so we know a lot about each other. It’s a great story.
“And fighting-style wise, Manny wasn’t at his best against defensive Mayweather,” who the Filipino lost against on points earlier this year. “But with me I’m a totally different fighter. We both like to fight, move and both have tremendous hand speed. I think it would be amazing. I’d love to take that fight.”
Pacquiao’s trainer Roach has previously labelled any possible matchup between the pair pointless as the Filipino regularly used to get the better of Khan in sparring. “Manny frequently put Amir on the floor, knocking him cold four or five times,” said Roach in November. “There’s no point Manny fighting Amir. The reality is that it’s no big fight.”
Arum himself has previously ruled out the Middle East as a suitable location for a fight due to the time zone factor. “Because the bulk of the income comes from pay-per-view, you have to do the fight in prime time in the US, so the fight will have to take place starting at 8pm in New York, which is 4am in Dubai. By the time the main event takes place, it would be 6am in Dubai,” the promoter said in 2009.
