Amir Khan insists Kell Brook is ‘avoiding him’ by ‘moving up in weight’ as he instead targets Manny Pacquiao fight

AMIR KHAN has once again accused big Brit rival Kell Brook of "running away" from a fight with him.

The two boxers have been trading insults for years, and a straightener in the ring seems further away than ever despite the pair "talking".

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And a scrap against boxing legend Manny Pacquiao seems more likely down the line.

Khan signed a three-fight deal with Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn at the start of 2018 - with the third of those set to be the long-awaited clash against Brook.

But it never came, and instead the Bolton brawler went over to the US to be stopped in six against the undefeated WBO welterweight world champ Terence Crawford.

Now Khan has once again tried to explain why the fight against former IBF welterweight champ Brook has never happened.

Khan hasn't fought since he knocked out Billy Dib in June 2019 out in Saudi Arabia.

The 33-year-old told : "At this time we’re talking to the likes of Kell Brook, there’s Manny Pacquiao. My first choice would be Manny Pacquiao, he’s such a legend in the sport.

“Kell Brook, obviously he’s not going nowhere. He’s British. And the thing is, when me and Kell Brook started to negotiate the fight, he then moves up to 154.

"The reason I signed up with Eddie Hearn was to get that Kell Brook fight. The third fight on that contract was probably the Kell Brook fight after the Lo Greco fight and the Vargas fight.

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"But then he’s gone up to 154 and I found it quite strange because I thought we were gonna fight each other, and that’s the reason why I went on and fought Crawford.

“It made people feel like it’s me, the one running away from him. But it’s not because it’s Kell Brook who just avoids the fight.

"[He] keeps avoiding the fight in different ways, you know, instead of verbally saying ‘I don’t want to fight you.’

"He’s avoiding it by moving up in weight. By moving up in weight he shows he doesn’t want to fight me.”

DE LA HOYA NEXT?

Another potential opponent could even be Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya.

The American announced that he will make a return to boxing at the age of 47.

Khan posted a picture of himself and the 1992 Olympic gold medallist on Twitter not long after that news broke.

Captioning the old image of the pair together, the British star said: "I heard @OscarDeLaHoya is thinking of making a comeback.

"Oscar De La Hoya vs Amir Khan."