Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said Thursday he is in talks with the World Boxing Association to make the Amir Khan vs. Samuel Vargas fight on Sept. 8 a final eliminator for the association's "regular" welterweight title, talkSPORT.com's Michael Benson reported on Twitter.
If the WBA agrees, the winner of that bout would face the winner of the July 15 fight between Manny Pacquiao and Lucas Matthysse.
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In order for this fight to become an eliminator, however, the WBA would have to skip over Jessie Vargas (No. 2 in the WBA rankings), Jamal James (No. 3), Egidijus Kavaliauskas (No. 4), Frank Rojas (No. 5), Jose Benavidez (No. 6), Josesito Lopez (No. 8), and Fabian Maidana (No. 9), as Boxingnews24.com noted. Khan, who is promoted by Hearn, is rated No. 7 and Vargas is No. 10.
The fight against Vargas will be the second of Khan’s comeback. Khan took a two-year hiatus from boxing after Saul "Canelo" Alvarez knocked him out in 2016.
Pacquiao wanted to face Khan in 2017, but his promoter got him to fight Jeff Horn instead. Pacquiao lost to Horn in a controversial 12-round decision on Horn's turf in Australia.