A report by the Daily Mail stated that the former world champion, Amir Khan, had signed an agreement to fight Manny Pacquiao on April 9 next year, which sets pulses and alarm bells ringing simultaneously. 

The document has apparently reached Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, although he told Yahoo Sports that those claims were “bullshit”.

“It’s total bullshit. It’s complete bullshit,” he said.

“I’m sitting here trying to figure a way to sell tickets to my fight [between Timothy Bradley and Brandon Rios on Saturday] and now my phone is ringing off the hook because this lunatic made some shit up.”

Both fighters were once training partners at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card gym in Hollywood, but grew apart due to a disagreement between Khan and Roach.

Pacquiao insists it will be his last fight before running for election as a senator in the Philippines.

Shah Khan, father and mentor of Amir, said: “Our paperwork went off to Arum on Friday and every point is covered.

“The location is definitely the US. The date in April may vary by a week or so but April is the month.”

Pacquiao is in rehabilitation after injuring a shoulder last year on the eve of his defeat by Floyd Mayweather Jr, a fight that proved to be one of boxing’s great delayed let-downs.

He has been pencilled in for an April return with no fixed opponent, although Khan’s name was in the mix, along with those of Tim Bradley and Terence Crawford, the latter an attractive but extremely dangerous match-up, the former not exactly blinding box-office. So Khan was a logical banker for Arum to maximise Pacquiao’s return.

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