WBC silver welterweight champion Amir Khan, former WBA & IBF light-welterweight champion, has been trying to land a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. for years now; to no avail, but Khan isn’t ready to give up yet.
Khan has won four fights in a row since being stopped by 140 lb. champion Danny Garcia in 2012.
Mayweather, the undefeated pound-for-pound king, stated after the conclusion of his unanimous decision victory over Manny Pacquiao, that he would fight one more in September, and then retire from the sport.
His uncle and co-trainer, Roger Mayweather, stated that Khan is ‘Plan B’ while a rematch with Manny Pacquiao is ‘Plan A,’ although Floyd said in an interview with Showtime’s Jim Gray that he is not considering a rematch with Pacquiao at this time.
If Khan is unable to land the fight, it hasn’t been for a lack of effort.
After initial concerns that Mayweather’s next fight would clash with the Muslim fasting for Ramadan, which Khan strictly observes, the Bolton fighter asserted fans that it falls early enough this year to permit 11 weeks of training for a fall clash with Mayweather.
Khan is hopeful that a decisive victory over former WBO light-welterweight champion Chris Algieri will propel him to the fight of his dreams and the biggest payday of his career.
Khan faces Algieri in New York on Friday, seven months after the Long Island native was dropped six times by former eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao in a one-sided rout.
Speaking with Daily Mail, Khan is hopeful the fight leads to the Mayweather fight, given that Pacquiao faced Mayweather after routing Algieri.
“I’ve got to take care of Algieri, but if I beat him, it will lead to a big fight with Mayweather. It led Pacquiao to him. The world wanted to see that fight, but it was Algieri who led Pacquiao to Mayweather.”
Khan believes he is going to give Mayweather the action-packed fight the world wants to see, but if you’ve seen any of Mayweather’s previous 48 fights, he’s pretty good at avoiding those types of fights with his defensive capabilities, so it’s just talk – for now.
“I went to Pacquiao-Mayweather and everywhere I was going, people were saying I should fight him,” said Khan. “Even Mayweather fans wee saying that I could cause him more problems than Manny did.
“You can understand if it’s the UK fans who were saying I should fight Mayweather, but it was the American fans. That shows that they see something in me and realize that I am the guy to give problems.
“I know the interest is there, but it’s all about getting past Algieri and not only winning but looking good.
“Who else is there out there for Mayweather? He’s in a very difficult position. I’ve got a big fan base in the UK., Asia, and Dubai, and he wants to reach markets he hasn’t reached before and be a global star.
“Styles make fights, and I’m not saying it will be easy, but it will be easier for me to reach him and hurt him than it was for Pacquiao.
“I’ve seen his manager and the smile on his face said, ‘Amir, you’ll be next, you’d better be ready.’
“They probably thought they would leave it to me for this fight and as soon as it’s over, we can sit down and talk.”
Mayweather could always choose a lesser opponent to end his future Hall of Fame career, but the former five-division world champion has stated he wants to end his career with a bang.
Whether he means to fight a grueling battle like he did in his first bout against Marcos Maidana or a defensive masterpiece that he’s compiled throughout his career, remains to be seen.
There is a chance that Mayweather will never fight Khan, and Khan knows it. As a result, he must focus on the task at hand, and that’s Chris Algieri.
“I don’t think Algieri has faced anyone like me with my explosiveness, speed, and movement. It’s going to be tough, but I’ve got the engine to go all the way.”
