MANILA, Philippines – Top Rank chief Bob Arum has blasted a report by a British newspaper that claimed a deal has been reached for Manny Pacquiao to fight Amir Khan.
Speaking to the Courier Mail, Arum said there is no finality yet on both Pacquiao’s next opponent and the fight venue.
“The Amir Khan story has come out of nowhere,” Arum recently told the Courier Mail.
The veteran promoter was referring to a story by The Sun about the camps of Pacquiao and Khan reaching a verbal agreement for a bout.
“Just official contracts now needing to be signed,” the report added.
But Arum countered that there is no truth to the article.
“It is total and complete [expletive],” he said.
The Top Rank boss went on to say that Pacquiao is currently looking at offers to fight in Dubai
“What’s happening is that Manny is talking to these people in Dubai who have offered him an insane amount of money,’’ Arum continued.
“Whether (the offer) is real or not real — he is determined to explore it to see if it has any validity. That’s all I can say,” the promoter said.
Khan recently topped a Twitter poll ran by Pacquiao asking fans who should he fight next in the United Arab Emirates.
Who do you want me to fight next in the UAE?
— Manny Pacquiao (@mannypacquiao) February 12, 2017
For his part, Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz echoed Arum’s statements and said that nothing is final yet.
“All I’m going to do is fuel speculation in the media and I don’t want to do that. I don’t work that way. Once we have confirmed 100 percent the venue and the arena and who the opponent is we’ll make an announcement,” Koncz told Fox Sports Australia.
“Hopefully by midweek next week we’ll have a final on everything.”