Top Rank CEO Bob Arum is grooming Amir Khan to fight Manny Pacquiao in the Middle East next year, since Floyd Mayweather is unwilling to fight the British boxer, according to the Daily Mail.

Arum will open talks with Khan's management this week and suggested that the venue will be in the Middle East, with Abu Dhabi the likely option after Dubai has been ruled out.

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Sportsmail's Jeff Powell revealed back in May that the fight between Khan and Pacquiao is being scheduled for early 2016 by Arum.
 
Arum said that Pacquiao will not duck Khan like Mayweather has.

The Top Rank boss said that Khan has been "shooting his mouth off" about Pacquiao and could now get a major fight after being spurned by Mayweather.

He emphasized that said he is not someone hard to deal with but will not "mess them around" and will tell them straight up that Pacquiao is no longer going to fight this year.

Pacquiao is currently recovering from a torn right rotator cuff.

Meanwhile, Khan called the fight with Pacquiao as Plan B after failing to book a fight with Mayweather, according to a Bad Left Hook report.

Khan said that being on the same team with Mayweather under Al Haymon, he thought it would have been easier to get the Mayweather fight.

Mayweather even told him to prove himself in the welterweight divison, and he did by beating three top ten contenders.

However, Mayweather would not negotiate for a fight.

Khan insists that he is the rightful challenger to Mayweather, with even the likes of Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns pushing for the fight to happen. 

He emphasized that Mayweather is definitely scared of him because he knows he would be beaten.

The Brit claims he has the blueprint to beat Floyd Mayweather, which is a combination of speed, movement and size.

While many would always refer back to Manny Pacquiao, due to his speed and power, Khan pointed out that Pacquiao is small and being bigger is key to beating Mayweather.

Khan also noted that while Mayweather did beat Pacquiao comfortably--he fought the older version who is no longer in his prime and who had lost a few fights and had been knocked out.

He also suggested that Mayweather deliberately waited for Pacquiao to fade by saying he "is smart that way."

TagsAmir Khan, Top Rank, Bob Arum, Floyd Mayweather, manny pacquiao