Amir Khan is top bet for Floyd Mayweather’s next opponent
A former sparring partner of Manny Pacquiao is currently the favorite to win the Floyd Mayweather sweepstakes. Amir Khan the former British Olympian has emerged as the top choice for Mayweather’s opponent on May 3rd.
Khan is under the Golden Boy Promotions banner, a group that work closely with Mayweather’s own promotion. Pacquiao on the other hand is with the rival Top Rank Promotions which will make negotiations with Khan far easier.
In an interview with Fight Hype’s Ben Thompson, Mayweather shared his thoughts about his upcoming opponent.
“Amir Khan, he has speed. After his loss to the kid from Philadelphia, to (Danny) Garcia, he’s had a couple of impressive victories,” said the undefeated American.
Khan lost to Danny Garcia in 2012 and has since scored a stoppage victory Carlos Molina and a close decision win over Julio Diaz. While Mayweather called these wins as impressive, he brushed off Pacquiao’s win against Brandon Rios as the opposite because the Filipino slugger “went 12 rounds with a lightweight.” Mayweather looks like he's not going to defend this WBC welterweight title against Pacquiao who was recently named as the mandatory challenger.
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One of Mayweather’s reasons for considering Khan the healthy number of boxing fans in the United Kingdom. “The thing that I like about Amir Khan is he is very interesting. He has a pretty cool fan base, so that fight would make a lot of sense,” Mayweather explained.
“When you have that UK fan base, it's remarkable. If the fight between Amir Khan and me is to happen, I want all my fans from the UK to come over.”
“We don't know where the fight may happen at, but of course it could happen in the UK if the fight does happen. It could happen in Vegas, we just don't know. It could happen in New York City, we really don't know,” Mayweather continued. “Only thing we can do is just wait to see what's going to happen and wait to see who my opponent is going to be."
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Khan for his part is relishing the chance of having a shot at Mayweather.“Floyd is the best fighter out there and you would love to see how you fight against the best,” he said in an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix.
"I’m not going to shy away from that fight. Styles make fights and I know for a fact that I will do better than most of the guys that he has fought. I’ll beat him. My speed and movement will give Floyd problems. I’m not taking any time off. I know that’s a fight that will change my life. That’s why I’m so focused on winning it,” Khan added like the fight is already a done deal.
