A date of April 22 and then May 19 were put forward for the two former training partners to face-off in the UAE, although the money promised by the backers of the fight has failed to come to fruition.
Arab money men had waved a possible $38m payment for Pacquiao v Khan under advisor Michael Koncz’s nose but promoter Arum has now stated the offer was ‘too good to be true’.
“When they contacted me, I told them it was pie in the sky, that this is crazy, it’s not going to happen,” Arum told Lance Pugmire of the LA Times.
“Manny wanted to roll the dice. He rolled the dice and it came up snake eyes. If something is too good to be true, it’s too good to be true.”
Asked whether anything can be done to salvage the fight, Arum added: “That deal is done for now. (They) were talking to the wrong people.
“Koncz will meet with Manny (with a new fight offer), and if he accepts it, we’ll go ahead. If he doesn’t, there’s nothing we can do.”
Australian Jeff Horn could now come back into play after initially agreeing to fight Pacquiao in Brisbane. Pacquiao was rather nonplussed regarding a bout with Horn, although with time ticking away and no fight lined up, the Filipino Senator may well be forced to accept.
The collapse is also a blow to Khan, who has now witnessed proposed encounters with Kell Brook and Pacquiao fall apart already in 2017.
