Many signs point to Amir Khan (28-3, 19 KOs) facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. (45-0, 26 KOs) in May next year, but the British fighter’s team has denied the rumor.
The Daily Mail reported on Wednesday that Khan, who has long been rumored as a potential opponent for Mayweather, will face “Money” in Las Vegas on May 3.
The Daily Mail said the announcement was expected to be made official in the next few days and that Khan had pulled out of his December fight with Devon Alexander so that his payday with Mayweather wouldn’t be jeopardized. But Khan’s team denied the report.
“Team Khan would like to dispel recent reports that Amir Khan has pulled out of a potential match-up against Devon Alexander on December 7th, taking up a fight against Floyd Mayweather in May of next year instead,” his team said in a statement, per The Telegraph.
“Contrary to this story, Amir Khan is currently in training camp in San Francisco with the aim of fighting again in December against Alexander once an agreement can be reached.”
Khan’s team has denied the report, but Mayweather’s hasn’t.
Mayweather’s advisor Leonard Ellerbe called the fight a “rumor,” while Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told the LA Times there was nothing to report.
Despite the denials and non-denials, I believe this fight will happen.
BoxRec.com already has Zab Judah facing Devon Alexander on Dec. 7 instead of Khan. Their information is usually mustard. Why would they list Judah if Khan hadn’t pulled out?
As previously stated, Khan has long been rumored as an opponent for Floyd. Back in Sept. 2011 we wrote that Khan expected to face Mayweather early in 2012. Miguel Cotto got the fight Khan thought he was going to get, and then Robert Guerrero and Canelo Alvarez were Floyd’s next opponents (they were the the opponents in Mayweather’s first two fights of a six-fight deal with Showtime.
Khan lost to Breidis Prescott in 2008 and then suffered back-to-back losses to Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia in 2011 and 2012. He fired Freddie Roach as his trainer after the losses and has won two in a row since then.
There was a time when I thought Khan had a lot of potential and was poised to be one of the next top fighters of the generation. He beat Malignaggi, Maidana, McCloskey and Judah all in a row and looked good in the fights. His speed in the ring seemed blinding. But then he lost the two fights in a row and really dropped off. He still has great speed and knockout potential, but like most fighters, I can’t anticipate him beating Floyd.
