Amir Khan has confirmed positive talks have taken place for him to come out of retirement and fight Manny Pacquiao – but insists the bout will not take place on the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua undercard in December.
Fury and Joshua will headline one of the biggest nights in British boxing history on 11 December at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, with hopes ring legend Pacquiao will also be part of the show. Event organisers Sela and Netflix are eager to get the 47-year-old on the bill after he returned to the ring in the summer of 2025 following a four-year absence.
Talks and numbers
American superstar Shakur Stevenson was named as one possible option to take on ‘Pac Man’ along with another retired champion in Danny Garcia. Khan’s name was also thrown into the mix, reportedly put forward to be Pacquiao’s dance partner.
The Briton, 39, hung up his gloves after his 2022 defeat to Kell Brook in Manchester but has long regarded Pacquiao as a dream opponent, with the fight falling through back in 2016. A decade on, Khan has confirmed he is happy with the numbers put on the table, with a fight location also discussed.
‘There are talks. There’s a lot of interest,’ Khan told Metro via boxing odds with Boyle Sports. ‘I’ve seen numbers which I’m happy with and I’ve seen a location which I’m happy with. Manny has come back to the same team that I’m dealing with and said he would want something as well. Manny is happy.’
Ruling out the undercard
The former world champion however has insisted there is no truth to reports suggesting the fight could land on the Fury vs Joshua bill, which is now just two months away.
Asked if there is enough time to get the deal done and get into fight camp before that 11 December date, Khan added: ‘No. That’s a rumour. Even if it was for that fight night, I wouldn’t be ready for it and I don’t think Manny would be either. We’ve both been travelling and we’re obviously not back in camp. It’s only about nine weeks away. I don’t know where that came from.’
A potential 2027 clash
But the prospect of Pacquiao vs Khan finally landing in 2027 appears to be a strong possibility, with the Bolton fighter ready for one last dance.
‘My days have been done. This is a little bit of a bonus coming up for me,’ Khan said. ‘I don’t want to say no to it because I’ve always wanted that fight.’
Like Fury vs Joshua, Khan’s last bout was another bitter British rivalry that almost never happened, going toe-to-toe with old foe Brook after almost 15 years of vicious back and forth outside of the ring.
While Khan showed glimpses of the thrilling speed that made him one of the country’s most watchable fighters, his body couldn’t stand up to the punishment dished out by Brook that night. Three months later, Khan announced his retirement. In 2023, he received a two-year backdated ban following a positive test for performance-enhancing drug, Ostarine, with that suspension having since expired in April 2024.
Khan insisted he had not intentionally taken any banned substance, with Brook accepting his story in an interview with Metro later that year.
Pacquiao meanwhile was set to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr in a rematch in September only for that bout to fall through. The Filipino legend suffered a brutal beating in his defeat to Yordenis Ugas in August 2021, vowing to stay retired after that night. He returned in July 2025 however up against a man 16 years younger than him in WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios, missing out on another world title triumph after their fight was ruled a draw.
