Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan fight to be held in Abu Dhabi

The Filipino boxing champion could be coming to the Middle East next year to fight Amir Khan, who has repeatedly been snubbed by Floyd Mayweather.

2015-08-12 14:35

After Floyd Mayweather passed on the chance to fight Amir Khan, Manny Pacquiao is stepping up to the plate.

According to the Daily Mail, Pacquiao's promoter and Top Rank CEO Bob Arum hinted that the duo could fight in early 2016 with Abu Dhabi being a potential host city.

Mayweather chose to fight Andre Berto on Sept. 12 in Las Vegas, with Arum calling the undefeated boxer a "farce" for repeatedly sidelining Khan.

"Amir Khan has been begging Mayweather for a fight and now he can get a major fight. I'm not a hard guy to deal with. I'm not going to mess them around. Manny's not going to fight this year," Arum said.

Pacquiao is currently recovering from a shoulder injured he had been accused of hiding back in May when facing Mayweather. Arum assured the British daily that Pacquiao would not be backing out of his fight with Khan.

“One thing's for sure, Pacquiao is not ducking Khan,” he said. “Pacquiao will fight him. I don't know if Khan will fight Pacquiao, but it's available.”

When asked about the venue, the TOP Rank CEO said that Vegas was a "possibility" but the Middle East would probably host the fight: "It won't be in Dubai but it will be in the Middle East. If not, we'll do it in Vegas.”