Amir Khan has ruled out taking on friend and sparring partner Manny Pacquiao.
Khan moved to America to train with Pacquiao’s coach Freddie Roach after his surprise first-round defeat to Breidis Prescott in 2008.
The former Olympic silver medallist claims sparring sessions between himself and Pacquiao are “pretty even” but is adamant a showdown between the pair would never materialise.
“I wouldn’t want to fight Manny because I think it puts me in a bad position, especially as I train with Freddie Roach and I don’t want to put him in that position of having to pick between us,” Khan said.
“So, really, I would never fight Manny because it would cause too many complications. On top of that, Manny and I are good friends. We eat at the same restaurants, we travel in the same car, we run and train together every day, we’ve built that bond up. We’re really good friends and I think it would be tough to fight him.”
Khan puts his WBA light-welterweight title on the line in Las Vegas on Saturday, and he has warned challenger Marcos Maidana that he has learnt from his mistakes since his defeat to Prescott.
“I have had a lot of fights as an amateur and a professional and that defeat gave me a wake-up call as I had been winning all my fights easily,” Khan told Sky Sports News. “When I had the defeat it shocked me, made me more hungry and made my try harder.
“I know how good I am and that’s why I’ve come back stronger and I am a great fighter now. I will never let those mistakes happen again. This fight is about speed and power. Maidana is a power puncher, then you have me who is a power boxer. It is a great clash of styles.
“Maidana is coming into this fight thinking, ‘Amir can’t punch, that he is going to run away from me’. I am not going to do anything like that. I am hitting a lot harder and feel stronger than I have ever been and I think Maidana is going to be in for a big shock.”
