Amir Khan would be willing to take on Manny Pacquiao and said he knows he can beat the veteran star, acknowledging, "Sometimes you have to fight your friend."

Khan spoke to TMZ and said that while he respects everything Pacquiao has done for boxing, he has the goods to defeat the 39-year-old:

"I've been around training with him for many years. But sometimes friends have to fight each other. I think it would make an explosive fight. ...

"Sometimes you put your friendship to the side; it's business. And when it's business you have to sometimes put it to the side and just go on with it.

"I respect him. I think he's a great guy. What he's done in boxing—he's done great things here in this sport. So, you have to respect him for that, but sometimes you have to fight your friend...if you want to make it to the top. ...

"I respect him, but I know I can beat him as well."

Khan is due to face WBA-NABA welterweight champion Samuel Vargas at Arena Birmingham on Sept. 8. The 31-year-old bounced back from his May 2016 knockout defeat to Saul "Canelo" Alvarez by beating Phil Lo Greco in the first round of their April clash at Liverpool's Echo Arena.

The Briton won't be as appetising an opponent if he loses to Vargas and boasts a record of just one win in his last three fights, but Pacquiao could be tempted into a bout that's long been touted as possible.

Pac-Man beat Lucas Matthysse via seventh-round TKO on July 15, and he told Boxing Social after the victory that he would be up for a date opposite his former Wild Card stablemate Khan:

Both boxers trained under Freddie Roach, but time is running out if the two are to ever go head-to-head, although Pacquiao continues to seek plaudits, even in his advanced years.

The Daily Mail's Jeff Powell reported Pacquiao sees Khan as the steppingstone he needs to convince Floyd Mayweather Jr. to come out of retirement and return to the ring for a second duel.

Khan could go a long way in scoring some validation with a win over such a respected figure in the sport, and host Michelle Joy Phelps backed the meeting to be a fight worth watching:

The Bolton native has fought just three times since the beginning of 2015, missing almost two years after his humiliation at the hands of Alvarez, for whom he moved up to middleweight.

A fight in 2018 is impossible because of Khan's clash against Vargas, but a win could make him a contender to face Pacquiao next, although the timing is slightly off with Pac-Man having just fought and won.

It's a clash that would undoubtedly sell and makes sense from a promotional standpoint, and hopes will be high after each fighter has given the thumbs-up to a meeting in the future.