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According to tweets from both Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan, the two have reached a deal for an April 23rd fight.
Negotiations between team Pacquiao and team Khan have come to terms for the April 23 bout as this is what the fans wanted. #PacquiaoKhan
— Manny Pacquiao (@mannypacquiao) February 26, 2017
My team an I have agreed terms with Manny Pacquiao and his team for a super fight #pacquiaokhan #April23rd
— Amir Khan (@amirkingkhan) February 26, 2017
If true this means that Khan has finally landed a fight that he’s coveted for several years — and that Manny Pacquiao was serious about letting fans choose his next opponent.
Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, has expressed a little skepticism about the legitimacy of the offer for this fight to be held in the UAE, but that should resolve itself in short order now that the fighters have announced that the fight is on.
Manny Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs) is most recently coming off a decision win over Jessie Vargas last November where he regained another welterweight title. Pacquiao, 38, didn’t look sensational in that outing, but he definitely proved that even a diminishing version of himself is still good enough to compete against world-level opposition.
Amir Khan (31-4, 19 KOs) is coming off a dramatic (yet expected) knockout loss to Canelo Alvarez last May. Khan, 30, moved up to 155lbs for that fight but decided afterwards he’d be better suited moving back to the welterweight division.