MANILA, Philippines – Top Rank chief Bob Arum denied a report claiming that a deal has been reached between the camps of Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan for a fight next year.
The report by Jeff Powell of Mail Online quoted Shah Khan, father of Amir Khan, as saying that they have agreed with the terms for the bout.
“Our paperwork went off to Arum on Friday and every point is covered,” the elder Khan told Powell, even adding that the fight will be held in the US.
“The location is definitely the US. The date in April may vary by a week or so but April is the month,” he continued.
But Arum was quick to deny Powell’s report. Speaking to veteran scribe Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, the seasoned promoter categorically stated that a deal hasn’t been finalized yet.
"It's total [expletive]. It's complete [expletive]. I'm sitting here trying to figure a way to sell tickets to my fight [bout between Timothy Bradley and Brandon Rios] and now my phone is ringing off the hook because this lunatic made some [expletive] up," Arum told Iole.
Pacquiao will fight one more time in April before retiring to focus on his political career that would center on a quest for a senate seat in next year’s national elections.
Apart from Khan, in the running for a date with Pacquiao is the undefeated Terrence Crawford, a fighter whom Arum also promotes.
Khan has been eyeing a clash with Pacquiao after being repeatedly ignored by Floyd Mayweather Jr., who in September announced his retirement.
Arum, for his part, confirmed that Khan is still in hunt for a Pacquiao fight, and that nothing has changed so far.
“He's in the running, yes, but we're nowhere near a deal with anyone, let alone him," said Arum. – Dino Maragay