Manny Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum said that the Filipino's scheduled bout against Amir Khan "has been called off," according to Iain Chapman of the LONDON TIMES. The two fighters announced the "super bout" on Twitter at the end of February, with "only the location to be determined." A venue in the UAE was expected to be confirmed but Arum said that the April 23 showdown is now "dead." Arum: "[Pacquiao’s adviser] Michael [Koncz] is on his way back to meet with Manny but it’s kaddish for the UAE deal. It’s dead" (LONDON TIMES, 3/8). In Abu Dhabi, John McAuley reported Arum insisted the deal "was dead" given the supposed $38M required to put on the event never materialized from UAE investors. He said that he offered Koncz "another potential fight for June or July." Koncz had been "driving the push for the UAE bout." Arum said, "When they contacted me, I told them it was pie in the sky, that this is crazy, it’s not going to happen. Manny wanted to roll the dice. He rolled the dice and it came up snake eyes" (THE NATIONAL, 3/8).
