Assuming he does go on to defeat Keith Thurman, Manny Pacquiao's next opponent is still technically unknown. Normally, the eight-time division champion would need a couple of weeks to months to decide on that - meaning the claims of Amir Khan and company are nothing but fake news.
Khan got plenty of attention recently when he announced on TalkSport that Pacquiao signed up to fight him in November. The Bolton fighter is coming off a big win over Billy Dib of Australia and is now seemingly looking to follow up that performance with a big name fight. And of course, the best fight that could come his way is to face is former sparring partner and friend.
Unfortunately for Khan, Pacquiao's camp refuted his claim. Team Pacquiao publicist Fred Sternburg revealed that the Pac-Man has not signed any contract for that alleged fight, BBC News said.
"As far as I know it hasn't been even discussed," Sternberg said. "He's been in training camp for the past eight weeks, four in the Philippines and four in the States, and he hasn't met with Amir Khan during that time."
For the record, Khan was considered as a potential opponent for Pacquiao in the past. But each time that happened, it seems someone better crops up. The last was in 2017 before the fight fell through. Pacquiao would go on to face Jeff Horn at the time, suffering a controversial loss that many talk about to this day.
Two years before that, Khan seemed to have the lead on a Pacquiao fight before Floyd Mayweather Jr. agreed to face the Filipino boxing icon. As one can see, a potential showdown between the two never prospered although the case this time around could be different. But the first order of business is to see the boxer-senator pull off a win against Thurman this coming weekend.
Khan may want to consider other fights for the meantime to further boost his stock. In the minds of many, his losses to Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez remain fresh. And while he tried to con most into believing he was next in line for the Pac-Man, the ploy was seen nothing more than him trying to grab a piece of the Pacquiao vs. Thurman hype which others have done before.
That includes Mayweather who, on occasion, comes up with something to get himself in the picture. But of course, the Flamboyant One is far more different from Khan in terms of popularity and boxing records.
