By Scott Gilfoid: Having struck out in his attempt to get Floyd Mayweather Jr after two years of calling him out, Amir Khan (30-3, 19 KOs) is now setting his sights on WBO 147lb champion Manny Pacquiao to try and get a fight against him.
Believe it or not, Khan thinks Pacquiao will not only agree to fight him, but that he’ll also be up for traveling to the UK to fight in front of what would likely be a large British audience of Khan fans.
Khan notes that he can make a lot of money fighting IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook right now, but he says he doesn’t want that fight because he’s going after the big names. Some fans might break that down to mean that Khan isn’t willing to take the risk of fighting Brook because of the potential of Khan losing to him and then never getting a fight against Pacquiao or Mayweather.
”I could make money out of fighting Kell Brook but it’s not about the money for me. But Kell Brook is not in my sights at the moment,” Khan told theboltonnews.com. “I have proven myself at top level and want the big fights. I believe Manny Pacquiao would come to England and fight me here. I would love to fight at Wembley stadium.”
I’d say the chances of Khan dragging Pacquiao over to the UK are slim and none. Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank would likely never go along on a deal like that. If the fight weren’t staged in the United States, then Arum would take it to Macau, China. The large site fee that Arum would get for staging the Khan-Pacquiao fight over there would be huge. Further, Arum is looking to open up the Chinese market for pay-per-view, so the more fights he stages over there the better for him and Pacquiao.
Khan’s adviser Al Haymon is the one that makes the fights for him, and he’s probably not going to be too excited at doing business with Arum. Yeah, Khan can flap his gums about wanting to fight Pacquiao and get him to fight in the UK, but if Haymon isn’t willing to work with Arum on this fight then it’s no deal. It’s just not going to happen. As such, instead of Khan fighting Pacquiao, we’ll likely see him in with another light hitter without the power to hurt him. I’m sure Haymon wouldn’t mind Khan fighting Mayweather, but that’s not going to happen because it’s not a fight that will sell in the U.S.
If Khan isn’t getting fights against Mayweather and Pacquiao then he really needs to fight Kell Brook. That’s where the money is for him. Khan is going to wind up losing out on that good cash if and when he eventually gets whipped again by another guy. I don’t see Khan getting Mayweather or Pacquiao in this lifetime. This means that Khan could lose out on not only those fights but also the Brook fight. So instead of getting one big payday against Brook, Khan will be taking much smaller paydays against likely light hitters.
Comments are closed.