If ever a clash with Manny Pacquiao happens, Amir Khan said that it will have to be fought at the welterweight limit of 147 lbs and that he won’t agree to a catch weight with the Filipino eight-division champion.
“You know, because I’m so used to 147 and I built myself up to 147, I think 147 is just an ideal weight for me. I wouldn’t want to go lower or higher. Let’s just stick to 147,” Khan told fighthype after the British star met with Pacquiao over the weekend in London to discuss a possible fight down the road.
Pacquiao and Khan are being eyed to face each other on May 30 in the event Floyd Mayweather elects to dump Pacquiao and Khan and instead face Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico or someone else on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Khan, who served as Pacquiao’s chief sparring partner a few years ago when he was still being trained by Freddie Roach, said there is no reason why Pacquiao has to demand a catch weight.
“Manny’s fought at 147 numerous times,” said Khan, whose career is on a meteoric rise following his dominant performance against Devon Alexander.
Pacquiao hasn’t actually demanded that they fight at a catchweight but Khan just wants to make sure that there’d be none in case they slug it out.
Khan said that the winner of his fight with Pacquiao should meet Mayweather.
In the past, Pacquiao has made some of his foes meet at a catchweight.
But Khan insists that it won’t happen when he is the one in the opposite corner.
Despite Khan’s emergence as a solid backup plan for Pacquiao, a Mayweather showdown remains tops on Pacquiao’s priority list.
Even Pacquiao’s adviser Mike Koncz admitted that if Mayweather suddenly has an epiphany in the next two weeks, they will have no choice but to abandon plans for a Khan fight.
Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank lists four cities as candidates to host a Pacquiao fight: Las Vegas, London, Brooklyn (New York) and even Abu Dhabi (in the United Arab Emirates).
Mayweather hasn’t made any public announcement regarding Pacquiao’s insistence that he has agreed to all of his demands and that it is only the undefeated US fighter’s signature that is lacking.