Amir Khan denies he was put to sleep by Manny Pacquiao in sparring

Former WBA and IBF world light welterweight champion Amir Khan has denied recent reports that he has been knocked out by Manny Pacquiao in a sparring session during his time at the famed Wild Card Boxing Gym in Los Angeles.

During an interview, Irish welterweight Dean Byrne claimed that he was informed of stories that Khan was put to sleep by Pacquiao during a sparring session, but made it clear that he did not see it with his own two eyes.

Notoriously known and criticized for his fragile chin, Khan told boxingscene.com that he was never hurt by Pacquiao in any of their heated sparring sessions.

“I’ve been seeing reports that I was put down by Manny Pacquiao in sparring which is not true. I have never been put down by Manny Pacquiao.  We have had some great sparring sessions,” said Khan, whose 4 of 5 defeats came by way of brutal stoppages.

“We must have done 300 or 400 rounds of sparring in total and never was I ever put down by him or hurt by him in any way. We had some great sparring sessions. With all of these comments people are making that I was put down, they are not true.”

He went on to say that the Filipino boxing icon has always been, and still is a great fighter to this very day.

“I was never put to sleep or put down by Manny Pacquiao. Look, no disrespect to Manny, he's a great fighter, we had some very competitive sparring sessions - toe to toe we were. He would catch me with good shots and I would catch him with good shots,” Khan remembered.

“I've been put down in fights but I've never been put down in sparring by anyone. In sparring, I've never been put down. You can ask all the guys I've sparred with or ask Freddie Roach and other trainers who were there.”

To this day, Khan is still crossing his fingers to win the Pacquiao sweepstakes for a huge payday. The eight-division champion, however, showed little to no interest in fighting the British pug. -NB, GMA News