By Edward Chaykovsky

British star Amir Khan (31-4, 19 KOs) is very confident that he can beat former sparring partner, WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao.

On Saturday night, the two boxers confirmed on their personal Twitter accounts that a deal was reached for a showdown on April 23rd. No venue or fight location was revealed.

Earlier this week, both fighters revealed that a deal was close to being reached.

Khan has been out of the ring since last May, when he moved up to a catch-weight of 155-pounds and was knocked out in the sixth round by Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. After that fight, Khan underwent surgery on his right hand to correct an old injury.

The date of April 23 is a Sunday, which indicates the fight will take place overseas (to fall in line with a Saturday night pay-per-view on April 22). But Khan says there is a possibility of the fight taking place in the United States.

Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, had previously confirmed that a group in the Middle East was offering $38 million to bring Pacquiao vs. Khan to UAE.

Khan and Pacquiao know each other very well. They once trained side by side at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood - when Freddie Roach was their mutual trainer. Khan left Roach in 2012 and hired Virgil Hunter.

“There’s a couple of locations we’re looking at. One is UK, one is Dubai and one is in the USA. We should find out in the next couple of days,” Khan said on Snapchat, according to Sport 360.

“The fight is going to be for the WBO title and it’s a fight I know I can win. I know a lot about Manny Pacquiao.”

Last month, there were serious negotiations between Khan and his domestic rival, IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook.

Their negotiations fell apart, after both sides were far apart on the financial terms.

Brook's promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport, stated in a recent interview that a fight between Khan and Pacquiao was never going to happen. He felt Khan was using Pacquiao's name to avoid a potential showdown with Brook.

After the agreement with Pacquiao was announced, Khan had a few choice words for Hearn.

“I think Mr. Eddie Hearn doesn’t know what he’s on about when he said the fight is not going to happen. I don’t think Eddie even speaks to Bob Arum to quote the fight between and Manny Pacquiao is impossible. So Eddie stop hating, keep your quotes to yourself and the fight between and Manny Pacquiao is happening," Khan said.