- The 37-year-old wants to fight boxing icon Manny Pacquiao within the next year
- Khan has not fought professionally since he lost to Kell Brook in February 2022
- He also predicted the ‘best’ version of Joshua easily beats Dubois in their fight
Amir Khan admits that he wants to arrange a showdown with Manny Pacquiao within the next year.
‘I don’t really have it in me to go back in the ring (professionally). I know I can pull it off but it’ll take me a lot to get back to top shape,’ Khan told Mail Sport. ‘But with Manny (Pacquiao), that’s different. There’s motivation there for both of us. We’re both on the same level and had time out of the ring so let’s see. I’d only fight Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao but it needs to be in the next year,’ he added.
Khan, 37, hasn’t fought since losing his final professional fight to Kell Brook in 2022, while Pacquaio, 45, has been competing in exhibitions since losing to Yordenis Ugas in 2022.
The pair are both in London for the Wembley showdown between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois. And Khan believes that it could be ‘a 50/50 fight’ between the two British heavyweights.
‘AJ is a better fighter but if gets caught out by Dubois, then it’s close because Dubois knows that if he hurts AJ, he could finish him. But if the best AJ comes out, he’ll blitz him,’ said Khan, who stressed that the current crop of boxers don’t take enough risks as they want to protect their record.
Khan wants a showdown with Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquaio within the next year
Amir Khan has not fought since he lost to fellow Briton Kell Brook back in 2022
Khan also predicted the ‘best’ version of Joshua will blitz Dubois in their heavyweight clash
‘I could have stayed unbeaten in the sport but I took risks. That’s what defines you as a fighter. I don’t regret any of them risks. I look back at my career and think that I’m glad what I did against fighters like Marcos Maidana, Danny Garcia and Canelo Alvarez,’ said Khan, who was speaking at the Asian Achievers Awards in London.
‘That García fight, I thought f*ck it, I want be in a war. I was never one to take the easy route. If some fighters take a leaf out of my book, they’ll make a bigger name for themselves. I took the biggest risks in boxing. I didn’t need to but I did it to prove to myself. Fighters out there want a clean record but you have to test yourself,’ Khan added.
‘I don’t think that guys with a 100 per cent record go far. It’s all about who you fight. I was always running forward. You can’t take steps backwards. Fighters like Hamzah Sheeraz have to push it now because they’re at that level. He’s got the mentality to be world champion and he’s just a touching distance away from winning world titles,’
Sheeraz, 25, takes on Tyler Denny on Saturday night on the undercard for the European middleweight title.
Amir Khan was speaking exclusively to Mail Sport at the 22nd Asian Achievers Awards in London, where he was honoured with the Special Award for Philanthropy.
