- British boxer Amir Khan is to stage a fight in Saudi Arabia on July 12
- The 32 year-old, who is of Pakistani decent, will fight Indian boxer and WBC Asian Champion Neeraj Goyat
- The deal is reportedly set to earn him up to $8.84 million
- The fight will take place at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah next month
Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah is all set to get ready to rumble after Amir Khan signed a deal to fight Indian boxer and WBC Asian Champion Neeraj Goyat at the King Abdullah Sports City next month.
The 32 year-old, who is of Pakistani decent, has recently spoken about his wish to fight in the Middle East specifically in Dubai. However, those plans have not yet come to a fruition.
“It will be the first time a British Pakistani will fight an Indian boxer, which eventually will bring the two nations together,” added Khan.
“I’m a firm believer in sport being a great healer. I would like to thank the Saudi government and General Sports Authority for giving me this opportunity.”
UK, USA, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Pakistan I’m ready send the contract https://t.co/D9oq1MrIev
— Amir Khan (@amirkingkhan) December 21, 2018
Khan’s dream fight he told Esquire Middle East, is right here in Dubai, and would be against Filipino boxing star and now politician Manny Pacquiao.
“I want to fight Manny Pacquiao in Dubai but nobody will organise it,” Khan ruefully says.
“Dubai needs a big fight which will be good for them. The South Asians, Indians and Pakistanis then you have the Filipinos who make up most of Dubai’s expat population. I mean that would be a big fight. It would be a unifying one for the South Asians too. They have such a big community here, and I’m sure that would be well received.”
Khan’s not entirely wrong. The three communities make up the most significant chunk of expats living in the UAE.
“Having two big names in the world, both having big communities in the UAE, I mean they [UAE] keep talking about hosting a boxing match. I’m ready, but are they?”
According to Khan, they have been “a lot” of meetings already trying to arrange a fight here, but so far nothing has materialised.
