Boxing News: Amir Khan Wants Manny Pacquiao Fight In Qatar or UAE

After getting snubbed by Floyd Mayweather Jr. for the ninth time, Amir Khan is looking forward to the possibility that he gets his big-money fight against Manny Pacquiao in 2016. If the fight is finalized, Khan wants it to happen in the Middle East -- either in Qatar or the United Arab Emirates.

“Qatar is one that is interested in me fighting over there as well as Dubai and Abu Dhabi. We need to hear from those guys, people from those countries and cities. So let’s wait and see,” Khan said in a radio interview, reported by gulfnews.com.

“All the major sports are going over there now, so why not take boxing there? Starting off with Amir Khan versus Manny Pacquiao would be massive out there," Khan said.

Bob Arum, Top Rank president and promoter of Pacquiao, confirmed that he is open to the idea of a Pacquiao v. Khan match next year, when the Filipino will fully recovered from his shoulder injury.

The potential Khan (31-3-0, 19 knockouts) v. Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 knockouts) match-up is projected to be a huge fight considering that Khan has Pakistani lineage and the Middle-East has a large number of Filipino workers.

“There is a huge British expat community in the UAE, plus there are a lot of Pakistanis and Filipinos. We have huge followings around the world so I think it would be one of the biggest fights ever," Khan added in the interview.

While Khan has not been successful in luring Mayweather to the squared ring, Pacquiao has already taken his shot at the undefeated American. Mayweather beat Pacquiao on May 2 in a largely uneventful 12-round unanimous decision victory while Khan is coming off a five-fight win streak after losing back-to-back in 2011 and 2012.

Pacquiao and Khan were former stable-mates in Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym some years back.