Amir Khan: Fight with Manny Pacquiao would be ‘massive’

Amir Khan has his return set for September 8 in Birmingham, England, where he’ll face Samuel Vargas in a second tune-up bout this year, following a near two-year absence from the ring.

But Khan (32-4, 20 KO) is looking ahead a little bit, and it’s hard to blame him. Nobody expects Vargas (29-3-2, 14 KO) to compete, let alone win, and Khan is really back for big money fights at the end of the day.

As far as that goes, Khan says he’d love to do a stadium fight in the United Kingdom against former training mate Manny Pacquiao:

“I really do believe I am one of the few who can sell out a stadium in the UK. It’s more than just the stadium, it’s the personality and person who sells that fight and it’s the dance partner, as well. … A Manny Pacquiao fight would be massive, anywhere in the world. He is a good fighter, a slick fighter, he’s a huge name in boxing and I am sure if he came to the UK, the UK fans would want to come and see him.”

Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KO) is coming off of a dominant win over Lucas Matthysse on July 14 in Kuala Lumpur, a fight where he really looked sensational for the first time in quite a few years, not just winning but wiping out his opponent, overwhelming Matthysse with speed and power.

So Pacquiao, who turns 40 in December, is back in prime position to sell a big event fight again, and Khan would be an interesting opponent for that. No matter what you think would happen, it’d probably be pretty exciting while it lasted. And Pacquiao, a living legend, has never fought in the UK, so a Pacquiao-Khan matchup at a UK stadium probably would do really good business, at least so long as Khan looks good against Vargas, which it’s expected he will.