By Edward Chaykovsky

Eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao explained that a fight with Amir Khan fell apart because of "middlemen" handling the negotiations on behalf of the British star.

Khan was one of three names in the running to fight Pacquiao on April 9th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The other two were Terence Crawford and Timothy Bradley.

In the end, Pacquiao selected Bradly for a trilogy meeting. The boxers split their first two meetings.

Pacquiao and Khan had an one time trained side by side, when both fighters were using Freddie Roach as their coach. Khan left Roach in 2012 and hired Virgil Hunter.

There have been disputes over what took place during the sparring sessions between Khan and Pacquiao. Roach claims the Filipino star knocked Khan out, while Amir says he was so competitive that Roach no longer allowed them to spar each other.

"Yes [we were talking with Khan]. Before this fight with Timothy Bradley we were negotiating and trying to fix and get it done, this fight with Amir, but it didn't work out," Pacquiao told Sky Sports. "There were a lot of middle men - in negotiations - a lot of representatives from him and that is the reason."

As far as a future bout, unlikely with Pacquiao's plan to retire.

"We don't know but after this I'm going to retire so it's impossible," Pacquiao said when asked about the prospect of a fight with Khan," Pacquiao said.

Khan is looking to return on a date in March and then plans to go for a world title shot in the summer. Khan is the mandatory challenger to the winner of this Saturday's fight between Robert Guerrero and Danny Garcia, who battle for the vacant WBO welterweight championship. He also has the option of a June showdown with domestic rival Kell Brook.