Amir Khan is excited to get back in the ring and finally face the 12-time world champion, after a £30 million deal fell through nine years ago.
Amir Khan is getting ready to step back into the boxing ring after retiring in 2022, which was four years ago.
But he’s not planning an easy comeback—he’s preparing to face Manny Pacquiao, who’s won 12 world titles. This will be their first professional fight against each other, even though they almost fought nine years ago in a huge £30 million deal that never happened.
Khan told Metro that talks about his return and the fight with Pacquiao have been positive. He’s happy with the money and the location they’ve discussed. Pacquiao has even rejoined the same team Khan is working with and seems keen on the fight too.
They’ve been rumored to fight for a long time—back in April 2017, Khan even announced on social media that it was happening. The fight was supposed to take place in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, but it got canceled when promoter Bob Arum said it wouldn’t happen.
Now, after nine years, we might finally see Khan and Pacquiao face off. But some fans might be concerned because Khan is now 39, and Pacquiao is 47.
Khan also confirmed that their fight won’t be on the undercard for the big Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua match in December. He feels their fight deserves its own spotlight and should not steal attention from the huge AJ-Fury event.
Joshua and Fury will meet on December 11 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, which is a huge deal in the UK. Khan said that while AJ-Fury is a big fight nationally, Amir Khan vs. Pacquiao is an even bigger fight internationally. He wants to respect the spotlight and let AJ-Fury have their moment.
He said, “There’s interest from other promoters to make the fight happen. I’d love to take it. I wouldn’t say no. But not on the AJ-Fury undercard. That’s their night, and they deserve it. It’s the fight we’ve all been waiting for.”