The Bolton man claims Manny Pacquiao vs Amir Khan will go ahead regardless of the Filipino legend’s result against Keith Thurman this weekend
Manny Pacquiao has more pressing matters to concentrate on, like his showdown this Saturday with unbeaten Super WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman. However, fresh from a predictable victory over Billy Dib in Jeddah, Amir Khan claimed in a press conference in hometown Bolton today that he will return to Saudi Arabia this autumn to face the Filipino senator and multi-weight world champion regardless of the latter’s result against Thurman.
According to Khan, the pair will finally meet, in Riyadh, on November 8, presumably bankrolled by similar benefactors to those who paid Amir a reported £7m to crush Dib in four rounds. The Olympic silver medallist and former unified champion at 140lbs is a huge star in the Middle East, while Pacquiao is one of the two most famous and successful fighters of his generation globally. It is a showdown Khan has long chased but appeared fanciful on his part until recently. If true, quite what this means for Pacquiao’s mindset as he approaches the Thurman clash is open to question.