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Amir Khan calls for 'fantastic fight' between Manny Pacquiao and Conor Benn in the UK
Former British boxing star Amir Khan believes Conor Benn could face Manny Pacquiao in a “massive fight” next year.
Pacquiao returned from a four-year layoff in July to hold WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios to a draw.
He is expected to return to the ring in January and had looked set to take on the WBA champion at 147lbs, Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero. However, Romero has now been ordered to face his mandatory challenger, Shakhram Giyasov, plunging a potential fight with Pacquiao into doubt.
Pacquiao may now need to find an alternative opponent, and Khan feels Benn could be the perfect dance partner for a fight in the UK, regardless of whether he wins his rematch with Chris Eubank Jr on November 15.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
“I think a fight with Conor Benn would be interesting,” Khan told Betway when discussing Pacquiao’s next move. “If Conor goes into the rematch against Chris Eubank Jr and wins or loses, the fight would be a fantastic fight for him against Manny Pacquiao.
“That’d be huge in the UK — people would be buzzing to see Pacquiao vs Benn. A lot of people in the UK want to see Manny fight there. He’s such a big name around the world, so we would love to see him fight here.”
Pacquiao will turn 47 in December, and Khan admitted he has reservations about the Filipino icon continuing his boxing career.
Khan has urged his former stablemate to only take “meaningful” fights rather than risk “getting hurt for no purpose”.
He suggested Benn could be a clash that would get Pacquiao’s juices flowing, and urged the Brit to step up and take on the challenge of fighting an all-time great when he drops back down to welterweight after his middleweight rematch with Eubank Jr.
“Conor Benn is building right now to become the next big thing in boxing, and hopefully he wins the fight against Eubank Jr in the rematch, and then it has to happen with Manny Pacquiao,” Khan added. “If he doesn’t win, I still think it is a good fight for him to do. That fight could bring massive attention.
“They are both powerful, strong, and I want to see it. Manny is older now, and he is not like his old self and won’t be as sharp or as hard as he once was. These young up-and-coming fighters should up their game a little bit more and take the risk, take the big names and try to win against the biggest names out there.”
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