Manny Pacquiao to fight Jeff Horn in Australia on July 2 but he wanted to fight Amir Khan instead… which could still happen in November
BOXING icon Manny Pacquiao has signed a deal for a July 2 fight with unbeaten Australian Jeff Horn.
Promoter Bob Arum confirmed the contract had been for the summer bout with the 38-year-old to fight at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
But the Filipino really wanted to fight Brit Amir Khan, with the pair still in negotiations to fight in November.
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Pacquiao's adviser Michael Koncz confirmed: "We are working out the details for the fight on July 2."
Arum had been originally quoted in international media saying the 38-year-old Filipino dubbed "Pac-Man" will get into the ring with Horn, 29, in April, possibly in Australia.
The Australian state of Queensland also offered to host the fight in Brisbane.
Pacquiao and British boxer Khan had announced separately in February that they would fight on April 23, with a source from the Filipino's camp saying the bout would be in the United Arab Emirates.
However, the Pacquiao-Khan fight bizarrely fell through, with Arum describing the reported £30million UAE deal to the last month as "pie in the sky".
Khan had been nursing a hand injury last year after career-saving surgery following his defeat to Canelo 'Saul' Alvarez last May.
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Koncz did not disclose the proposed Pacquiao-Horn prize money or the venue, telling reporters the fighters' purse was "nobody's business".
World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Pacquiao is in the twilight of a glittering career that won him unprecedented world titles in eight weight divisions.
He briefly retired last year as he won a seat in the Philippine senate, but made a successful comeback against Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas in November.
Arum has been criticised for pushing the fight with Horn, 29, a relative unknown in the stratosphere of Pacquiao, with Terence Crawford and Adrien Broner also on the look-out for a bout.
But the promoter wanted to take the fight to Australia and the 55,000-capacity Suncorp Stadium and says it makes financial sense.
He added: "The last I knew, guys like Broner and Crawford weren't Aussies. Horn is an Aussie. There's government behind it. They want the fight. They wanted Manny Pacquiao.
"Essentially, to buy the cheese, they wanted Pacquiao against this Aussie fighter."