ISLAMABAD British boxer of Pakistan-origin Amir Khan wants to fight India’s Neeraj Goyat and Filipino Manny Pacquiao before retiring from the sport. Goyat (11-2-2, 2 KOs) holds theWBC Asian welterweight title, and he’s someone that Khan (34-5, 21 KOs) feels would attract a lot of interest from India and Pakistan. Khan would like to fight Goyat as a warm-up to get him ready for a massive fight against Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) next year. But at the same time, Khan is not sure when boxing will restart. Khan has fought only six times in the last five years. “Maybe one or maybe two,” Khan was quoted as saying by prominent boxing website www.boxingnews24.com He said he could be retiring after one or two more fights. “I’ve done everything I wanted to do in boxing. And I’ve won world titles, fought at Madison Square Garden, but what’s going to motivate you? I’ve been around and fought the best pound-forpound fighters. Maybe have one or two fights, and then go into managing young fighters. “Since it’s been a long time out of the ring, I think I’d go with the WBC Asian champion, which is Neeraj Goyat, and then after him fight Manny Pacquiao and call it a day [retire]. I’d like to fight Goyat because being this long out of the ring, and at the same time being ranked in the top 10 with the WBC, it makes sense to take that fight in SaudiArabia or wherever. It’s a decent fight.” “What makes it even bigger is he’s an Indian boxer, and I’m a British Pakistani. It would be even bigger. Politically it would get huge.” There would not be a lot of interest in a Khan vs Goyat fight from UK and American boxing fans so that it would be another low-level clash for him. Khan is coming off of a mismatch against Billy Dib last July in Saudi Arabia, and that fight failed to resonate with fans. “The Pacquiao fight. That would be a massive fight,” said Khan. “Stylistically, that’s a fight [Pacquiao] that would motivate you and get you up. It’s hard to get switched on now. I remember talking to Manny at the Wildcard. He was around 30 then, and even then, he was finding it hard to motivate himself. “What he needed was big names to motivate him. Back then, he was fighting the likes of Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya. Big names he was fighting like Cotto. You need that motivation. “I could call it a day now if I wanted to, but I feel like there’s a little bit more left in me. Manny Pacquiao, for me, would be a full complete career that I wanted,” said Khan. Pacquiao vs. Khan will be a big fight if it happens next year. However, the long layoff could potentially send both fighters into retirement. Pacquiao and Khan both have not fought since last July. If the sport still has not restarted by July 2021, that would be two years out of the ring for them. Will Khan and Pacquiao want to continue fighting off of a 2-year layoff? It would be asking a lot of them to come back at that point.—APP
