Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan Confirm Fight Negotiations Amid Jeff Horn Rumours

Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan have both confirmed they have entered negotiations to fight one another.

The pair took to Twitter on Thursday:

Per ESPN's Dan Rafael (h/t the Guardian), the move puts an end to Jeff Horn's hopes of fighting Pacquiao in his hometown of Brisbane, Australia, in April.

The Filipino's promoter, Bob Arum, said: "The Australian deal is not going to happen now because Manny is trying to get a fight done in the United Arab Emirates. The people there favour him fighting Amir Khan."

Arum added that the fight was far from guaranteed to happen, however: "Whether it will happen or not I just don’t know because they have to come up with a large amount of money. Manny seems to believe they will come up with the money. I have some reservations whether it will happen or not."

The promoter, who revealed the money supposedly on the table in the UAE is $38 million, had previously dismissed reports of Pacquiao fighting Khan as "total and complete bulls--t."

In a Twitter poll conducted by Pacquiao earlier in February, Khan was selected as the overwhelming favourite by almost half of the 45,000 people who responded:

The 38-year-old is pursuing his 60th win in what will be his 68th fight, having bounced back from his defeat to Floyd Mayweather Jr. with wins over Timothy Bradley and Jessie Vargas.

Meanwhile, Khan's last bout in May 2016 saw him suffer the fourth defeat of his career—a sixth-round knockout by Saul "Canelo" Alvarez after he had moved up two weight divisions to take on the Mexican.

John Locher/Associated Press

Per Rafael, Arum said the fight could take place in April or June, but May is out of the question because of Pacquiao's duties as a senator in the Philippines.

Despite Pacquiao's age, he undoubtedly represents one of the toughest opponents Khan could face on his return to the welterweight division.

The pair used to both train under Freddie Roach, who remains Pacquiao's coach, and sparred together during that time.

According to Rafael, Khan has long sought out a fight with Pac-Man, so the 30-year-old will finally get to test himself against his former training partner. It could be one of the trickiest fights of his career.