Pacquiao’s still the man for Khan

AMIR Khan insists there is no reason why he cannot fight both Manny Pacquiao and Kell Brook within the next 12 months.

Khan recovered from a secondround knockdown to beat Colombian Samuel Vargas on points at the weekend, and, speaking after the fight, Eddie Hearn, who promotes both Brook and Khan, suggested a grudge match between the British pair must happen “now or never” – potentially at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium before the end of the year.

Khan told PA Sport: “I’m 31, I’m still young and there’s still room for both fights. Why isn’t there? I think within a year both fights could be done.

“Pacquiao is definitely my priority because he’s globally a bigger name, a superstar in the sport of boxing. To fight someone like him would be amazing.

“It’s a tricky fight and people will think I could get beat by him, but I know I can do a number on him.

“The Kell Brook fight is a fight I know I could win comfortably, really. It’s what name I want on my record. I’d love a Manny Pacquiao name over Kell Brook by miles. That name, in my opinion, is way bigger.”

While a stadium fight with Brook appears to be the preference of the British boxing public, Khan believes it could be possible to tempt Pacquiao to these shores.

“In my opinion fighting someone like Manny Pacquiao would be amazing because we were training partners,” Khan added.

“I know a lot about him, I’ve sparred with him and I do really well against southpaws. I’ve a 100% record against them so that might be the right fight for me.

“We’ve always kept (the relationship) very professional. We’ve known we’ve wanted to fight each other for a long time.”