Horn's Promoter Still Has Doubts Pacquiao-Khan Will Happen

By Edward Chaykovsky

Dean Lonergan of Duco Events, who promoter Australian Olympian Jeff Horn (16-0-1, 11 KOs), is feeling better after reading a recent article on BoxingScene.com, where Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum had given confirmation that Manny Pacquiao vs. Amir Khan was a done deal.

Late Saturday night, both Pacquiao and Khan made announcements on their social media pages that a deal was reached to face each other on April 23.

Pacquiao's personal adviser, Michael Koncz, would later confirm the deal and said the fight would take place in UAE.

Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, spoke to BoxingScene's Steve Kim and denied that a fight with Khan was finalized.

"Well, Mike Koncz is flying in to the United States now and we’re going to meet [on Tuesday]," Arum is quoted as saying by BoxingScene.com. "I don’t know what offer we’re talking about but obviously we’re all collegial, we’re all on the same team and we’ll discuss what is the best move for Manny."

Arum stated last week that a group in the Middle East was offering $38 million to have Pacquiao fight in UAE, and Khan was the preferred opponent. Arum has serious doubts about the deal.

The current situation has caught everyone by surprise, because a few weeks ago Arum had announced that Pacquiao was fighting Horn on April 23 with Brisbane, Australia as the likely location.

Based on Arum's recent comments, Lonergan is confident that Horn is still in the race to get the Pacquiao fight. Lonergan, like Arum, doubts that anyone will come up with the promised $38 million.

"I think the chances of Pacquiao receiving $38 million to fight Khan in the UAE on April 23 are somewhere between slim and zero," Lonergan told The Courier Mail.

"The situation will become a lot clearer after I talk to Bob Arum on Thursday. So far there is still no stadium booked in the UAE and still no word on who is supplying the $38 million. It’s one thing for two fighters to say they’ve reached an agreement but it’s something else entirely to find the money, set up the promotion and all the global television deals that go with it. That takes months of planning.

"If Manny really wants to pursue a fight with Khan in the UAE why doesn’t he give himself a few months to do it and come to Brisbane first for the fight with Jeff Horn? We have a very generous offer on the table with the money already guaranteed."