Amir Khan informed World Boxing News of what Manny Pacquiao had said to him when the pair met in London on Friday.
As WBN reported first, Pacquiao is looking to fight in the UK this December after landing in the country to watch Anthony Joshua fight Daniel Dubois. MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons told WBN he intends to strike up talks with Ben Shalom about featuring the Filipino boxing legend on Sky Sports this winter.
Khan’s name was first mentioned when Gibbons spoke to World Boxing News. The Bolton man then responded when quizzed about what happened at the meeting.
“I saw Manny Pacquiao last night,” Khan exclusively told World Boxing News. “When I met him, I got the feeling that he wanted to fight me. There’s been no offer on the table, so right now, I don’t know.”
Gibbons may intensify his efforts as Pacquiao and Khan sit ringside for Joshua vs Dubois at Wembley Stadium, where Shalom will also attend.
Outlining his intentions to WBN on Friday, Gibbons was confident he could secure a UK fight, whether with Khan or Conor Benn in Manchester or London.
“We are here in town, we are in London, and we will be attending the Joshua fight. Manny would love to end his career in England. The thought was that before he makes his way into the political field in 2025, he’d like to do one more fight and like to finish his career in England. What better place than where boxing started?
“We will see what we can come up with while we are here, but we plan to talk to Ben [Shalom] over a fight on Sky Sports, possibly before the Usyk vs Fury rematch in December.”
He added, “The Khan fight has been talked about for fifteen years and has tried to be made at various times. I think that would be a very fun fight due to where they are both at with their careers. We also talked about Conor – if he’s off his suspension, that would be tremendous in December. So whatever it is, Manny would love to fight here in England.”
Regarding what it would mean to fight in the UK, Gibbons stated, “Manny has a tremendous amount of British fans over the years. For now, there’s nothing in the US for Manny to consider.
“England is a tremendous market, and in some ways, it’s bigger for Manny Pacquiao here since he’s never fought here. It will be like the fans seeing a living legend, a Hall of Famer, and getting to see him up close and personal.
“So staging a big fight here in London or Manchester would be a perfect way for Manny to end his career. We hope we can make it happen. We will speak to Ben to give all the British fans a chance to see a boxing legend in action before he retires.”
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
