Khan: It could be Pacquiao after Goyat

By Boxing News - 06/19/2019 - Comments

Image: Khan: It could be Pacquiao after Goyat

By Scott Gilfoid: Amir Khan says he’s interested in working with promoter Eddie Hearn to face big names, possibly Manny Pacquiao and/or Kell Brook after he fights Neeraj Goyal on July 12 in Saudi Arabia. Khan is now a promotional free agent, and competing under his own Amir Khan Promotions banner.

Khan thinks that Pacquiao could be his next fight after he beats the little known fighter Goyat (11-3-2, 2 KOs) on the 12th of July. Khan wants the fight with Pacquiao, but the Filipino star hasn’t said whether he would agree to take the match.

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Pacquiao would receive massive criticism if he faces Khan

Khan says he’ll be ready to face Pacquiao (61-7-2, 39 KOs) after his the former eight division star faces Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman on July 20. However, Pacquiao would be taking a lot of heat from the boxing public, both in the U.S and the UK, if he does fight Khan instead of a relevant top contender. The recent loss for Khan to WBO 147 pound champion Terence Crawford has dropped his stock like a rock.

Perhaps Khan is unaware of the perception the fans have about him, but needless to say, they’re not interested in seeing him and Pacquiao fight each other. They want Manny to fight relevant fighters, not shot guys that quit when they get hit low. Khan isn’t ranked in the top 15 by any of the four sanctioning bodies any longer after his loss to Crawford lat April.

It won’t be as bad if Pacquiao loses his fight against Thurman, and then looks Khan’s way afterwards. Pacquiao would have a good excuse for fighting Khan.

The problem is that Khan is doing zero to redeem himself after his loss to Terence Crawford last April. Khan quit in the sixth round after getting hit with a low blow.

“These names have always been spoken about and I really feel like those fights are still out there,” said Khan to Sky Sports News about Pacquiao and Kell Brook. “The Brook fight is still out there, definitely. In Britain it would be a huge fight.”

Would Khan vs. Brook be a huge fight in Britain? It’s seriously doubtful, but you never know. Khan waited too long in letting the Brook fight marinate, and now the boxing public has grown bored with them, and are more interested in seeing other fighters compete.

The Brook fight is obviously still there for Khan. Brook has desperately been chasing a fight with Khan for years, and he’s even put own career in stall by backing off from fighting world class opposition. Brook has been just waiting for the Khan fight.

Brook stopped losing repeatedly, but he’s also no longer being talked about. He’s the forgotten man. If Khan wants the fight with Brook, all he has to do is say the word, and Brook will be right there. Unfortunately, the British boxing fans no longer care about that fight, and of course the American fans have no interest in it. Brook is an unknown with the casual fans in the States.

To come back from a loss like that, Khan would need to fight one of the top contenders in the welterweight division. Rather than doing that, Khan is fighting an unknown fighter named Neeraj Goyal in Saudi Arabia. This is a worse mismatch than the fighter that refers to himself as the “lineal heavyweight champion” Tyson Fury’s mismatch against Tom Schwarz last Saturday night.

The only way the Filipino star can escape criticism in a fight with Khan is if he calls it a ‘confidence booster’ or ‘tune-up level’ contest to boost his morale if he loses his fight against Thurman. But if Pacquiao defeats Thurman, there would be no excuse for him defending his World Boxing Association 147-pound title against a fighter that was just beaten last April by WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford.

Khan getting another undeserved title shot so quickly would be a disappointment to a lot of fans, because Khan’s fight against Goyat (11-3-2, 2 KOs) is a horrible match-up.

Khan: I might want to win another world title

“I might get the love again, and want to win a world title again,” said Khan. “I want to fight the top names. I am still being called out by top names like Manny Pacquiao and Kell Brook.”

What world title does Khan have in mind? That’s what Gilfoid would like to know. There are no vulnerable/easy marks out there for Khan to beat at 147 right now. These are the current champions at 147:

– Errol Spence Jr. [IBF]

– Shawn Porter [WBC]

– Manny Pacquiao [WBA regular]

– Keith Thurman [WBA Super World]

– Terence Crawford [WBO]

Khan isn’t going to beat any of those guys, and it would be impossible for any of them to sell a fight against Khan right now given his recent quit job against Crawford.

Khan pushing hard for the Pacquiao fight

“I’d love to do that fight. It’s one of the reasons I’ve take the fight as I know there’s a bigger picture,” said Khan about Pacquiao. “There’s always talk about Manny and there has been more talk about it lately. Let’s hope he wins against Thurman, I win against Goyat and we can move forward front there.”

As far as this writer can tell, there has been absolutely no talk on social media from boxing fans about them wanting to see Pacquiao fight Khan. It’s anyone’s guess where Khan got the idea that fans are talking about him and Pacquiao fighting, because no one one is talking about those two fighting each other.

Fans might have been talking about a Pacquiao vs. Khan fight years ago maybe, but not now. The ship has sailed. Khan’s losses to Crawford and Jeff Horn has spoiled interest in a fight between him and Pacquiao.

The fans are motivated in seeing Pacquiao fight the winner of the Errol Spence Jr. vs. Shawn Porter or Terence Crawford. There’s interest in fans seeing those type of fights. Fans would probably like to see a rematch between Pacquiao and Thurman if there fight is competitive. That would be interesting. But Khan is not being mentioned at all as far as a fight with Pacquiao. There is a small trickle of die-hard boxing fans in the UK that still would like to see Khan and Brook fight each other, but that’s about it.

Pacquiao would be a great way to finish

“I have this fight and then it could Manny, that would be a great way to finish,” said a hopeful sounding Khan. “I’m not taking my eye off Goyat though, I know that I can’t be complacent and I need to beat him.”

Khan has been talking up a fight against Pacquiao for many years. There was interest on Pacquiao’s part in 2017, but his promoters at Top Rank chose to match him against Jeff Horn instead, who they promoted. Pacquiao ended up losing a controversial decision.