By Edward Chaykovsky

Former world champion Amir Khan (31-3, 19KOs) is hoping to return to the ring by the end of year. At the moment he is looking at later November or early December, which is on schedule with his fall ring return of 2014.

Khan had hoped to secure WBC/WBA welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. on September 12th and focused most of his energy on pursuing that matchup. Earlier this month he was passed over in favor of training-mate Andre Berto.

The British fighter will sit down with adviser/manager Al Haymon in the coming weeks to finalize the details of his next fight. Khan previously stated in a separate interview that his upcoming return is likely bound to headline a Premier Boxing Champions card.

One target for Khan is former sparring partner Manny Pacquiao, who is also very interested in the fight. Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, wants to put that fight together in the first half of 2016.

"[I'll be back] probably late November or early December. To be honest, we’ve been waiting on Floyd Mayweather so we haven’t been looking at anyone else. Since the announcement [of Mayweather-Berto] I haven’t really had the chance to speak to Al Haymon who advises me. Listen, the Amir Khan-Manny Pacquiao fight has been talked about and could happen early next year – that could be next. At the moment I’m keeping my options open," Khan told Boxing News.