Amir Khan’s fight against Manny Pacquiao will not go ahead, according to boxing promoter Bob Arum.
Khan and Pacquiao announced via their respective Twitter accounts at the end of February that they had agreed terms for a bout, due to take place on April 23.
Pacquiao said that the United Arab Emirates would host the event, although no venue had been confirmed.
My team an I have agreed terms with Manny Pacquiao and his team for a super fight #pacquiaokhan #April23rd
— Amir Khan (@amirkingkhan) February 26, 2017
https://twitter.com/mannypacquiao/status/835688422299721728
However, according to Arum, Pacquiao’s longtime promoter, the fight has been called-off after a $38m offer from an unnamed investment group failed to come to fruition.
“When they (Pacquiao’s team) contacted me, I told them it was pie in the sky, that this is crazy, it’s not going to happen,” Arum told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday.
“Manny wanted to roll the dice. He rolled the dice and it came up snake eyes. If something is too good to be true, it’s too good to be true.”
Pacquiao was in talks to fight Australian welterweight Jeff Horn on April 23, but changed course and asked his Twitter followers who they wanted to see him face off against in his next bout.
They overwhelmingly voted in favour of Khan. The Bolton boxer’s last fight ended in a sixth round knockout by Mexican middleweight Canelo Alvarez last May.
https://twitter.com/mannypacquiao/status/830845509203922944
Arum says the figures being mentioned “made no sense,” but the bout can still go ahead later this year, with November the earliest possible date. The veteran promoter also said Pacquiao wants to fight as soon as possible, with July a possibility.
Pacquiao hasn’t fought since November, when he came out of retirement to beat Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas. The 38-year-old is a six-time world champion.
Meanwhile, ESPN report that Khan is still hopeful of fighting the Filipino boxer later this year.
The 30-year-old and Pacquiao are former sparring partners, and trained together at Freddie Roach’s gym in Los Angeles.
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