Manny Pacquiao: Amir Khan's middle men prevented fight
Friday 22 January 2016 16:47, UK
Manny Pacquiao says a fight with Amir Khan fell through because of a collapse in negotiations with the British fighter's "middle men".
The pair had been in talks in November about a contest in Pacquiao's final bout before his impending retirement, but it has since been confirmed the Filipino will face Timothy Bradley.
Pacquiao has not fought since undergoing shoulder surgery following his points defeat to pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather last May.
Khan previously said he had pulled out of talks with Pacquiao, but the former WBA and IBF super-lightweight champion revealed on a trip to India that negotiations with his former stablemate had resumed two months ago.
The fight, however, did not get booked and Pacquiao has laid the blame for that at the door of Khan's representatives.
"We don't know but after this I'm going to retire so it's impossible," Pacquiao said when asked about the prospect of a fight with Khan.
"Yes, before this fight with Timothy Bradley we were negotiating and trying to fix and get it done, this fight with Amir, but it didn't work out.
"There were a lot of middle men - in negotiations - a lot of representatives from him and that is the reason."
Responding to the comments on Twitter, Khan said: "Manny and middle men? My team met Bob Arum in London, also spoke to Michael Koncz we agreed all terms and they said Manny will decide to fight either me or [Terence] Crawford. The fight with me could have been in the UAE or Vegas.
"We were waiting to see who he picks and he decided to fight Bradley again don't blame me or my team as there was no middle men, for whatever reason they never wanted to fight."
Instead, Pacquiao will face Bradley at the MGM Grand on April 9, a fighter against whom he has recorded one win and one loss, both on points.
But it is his match with Mayweather which continues to dominate any conversation with Pacquiao about former opponents, and he believes it was a contest he should have won.
"I'm 100 per cent sure that I'm going to retire after this fight," Pacquiao told Sky Sports News HQ. "He [Mayweather] is already is retired so that's impossible but we don't know.
"In my heart, if you ask me in my heart, I still believe that I won that fight but I respect the decision of the judges, the commission and that's boxing."
