Pacquiao quashes Khan’s hopes despite Briton indicating fight had been agreed for November
Manny Pacquiao appeared to rule out a possible showdown with Amir Khan in November after winning his WBA welterweight title showdown with Keith Thurman in Las Vegas.
Khan claimed earlier in the week that he and Pacquiao had both signed up for a fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 8 November. But after clinching the 62nd win of his 71-fight professional career against previously-unbeaten American Thurman, Pacquiao said he did not expect to step back into the ring again this year.
Pacquiao, who defeated Adrien Broner in January and has not fought three times in the same year since 2008, is a senator in his homeland the Philippines.
“I think my next fight will probably be next year because I am busy this year,” Pacquiao said in his post-fight ring interview.
“After this fight I am going back to the Philippines to start working in the Senate.”
Pacquiao said he planned to be ringside for the welterweight world unification fight between Errol Spence Jr and Shawn Porter in Los Angeles in September.
Britain’s two-time world champion Khan bounced back from his defeat to Terence Crawford in April by winning the WBC international welterweight title after stopping Billy Dib in Jeddah last week.
Khan said: “The next fight is going to be back in Saudi Arabia, it is going to be in Riyadh this time and it is going to be on November 8.
“Hopefully, it could be the Manny Pacquiao fight, we have both signed and the fight is done.
“Hopefully, he gets past his fight on the weekend then we go and do that fight.”