"I was told the contracts between myself and Manny Pacquiao had been signed."
Tuesday 23 July 2019 18:33, UK
Amir Khan hopes to nail down a "big name" opponent within the next couple of weeks after missing out on a dream showdown with Manny Pacquiao.
Khan announced last week he had signed terms to face Pacquiao in November ahead of the eight-weight champion's showdown with Keith Thurman at the weekend.
However, the 40-year-old Filipino dashed his former stablemate's hopes when he ruled out fighting again this year after handing Thurman his first defeat to claim the WBA 'Super' welterweight title.
"I was told the contracts between myself and Manny Pacquiao had been signed," Khan explained to Sky Sports News.
"My advisors told me the fight had been signed so I went on and announced that the fight is signed and hopefully we will be looking at maybe later in the year.
"Then Manny came back and said that fight isn't happening. It's just one of those things. I looked at it and if it's not there for me, then it's not there for me.
"I had a date on November 8 in Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, I'll be focusing on that but I'd love it to be Manny Pacquiao, if it's not Manny Pacquiao we move on to someone else."
Khan bounced back from a painful sixth-round stoppage to Terence Crawford in April by defeating Billy Dib in Jeddah earlier this month to claim the vacant WBC International welterweight title and the promise of a top-five ranking with the sanctioning body.
"The welterweight division in boxing has to be one of the toughest in the world," added former two-time world champion Khan.
"I'm still in the top 10 rankings over there in the welterweight division, so I just feel that the likes of Keith Thurman, you've got Shawn Porter who's fighting [Errol] Spence, the winner of that fight is available.
"There's talk about Manny Pacquiao, whether that happens or if that doesn't happen, then a Danny Garcia rematch is another one which could happen.
"There are some big names out there in the welterweight division that I can make some good fights with and hopefully we can get something signed off in the next couple of weeks."
Amir Khan has switched trading blows for trading bonds and was speaking after giving an inspirational talk to financial gurus attending the Great Financial Trading Conference, hosted by ThinkMarkets.
