Boxing: Khan Not Sure If Pacquiao Will Fight Again

A former unified light-welterweight world champion, Amir Khan, says he is not sure if his erstwhile training partner and friend, Manny Pacquiao, will box professionally again.

Allnews reports that Pacquiao's last fight was with Keith Thurman in July 2019, and the Filipino Senator has not contested competitively since then.

Pacquiao won the duel by split decision and, at 40 years old, became the oldest welterweight to win a major world title in boxing history.

Opponents that could end up in Pacquiao's plans for 2020 include Errol Spence Jr., Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, Terence Crawford, Mikey Garcia, et al. But with the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) halting sporting activities globally, the veteran could well be out much longer.

“Yeah, for Manny Pacquiao, it’s a long time to be out of the ring,” Khan told World Boxing News.

“I’m sure he knows what he is doing.

“Manny is a great champion, a great fighter and a friend of mine as well. Even though we tried to get a fight on, at the end of the day it’s a business.

“But I think it’s a very long time to be out, especially at his age. At 41 or 42, your body is not going to recover as quickly as it normally does.

READ ALSO: Boxing: Former World Champion Khan Considers Retirement

"Even when you are trying to get back into shape again. “Your body is not going to get in peak shape as quickly as it once did. Even if you train as you normally do.

“It could be a long time. Is he going to come back, we don’t know now. I know he has a lot of options out there. “Who knows?”