Advertisement

Floyd Mayweather's potential next opponent — Amir Khan — says a fight could be finalized in the next 2 weeks

Amir Khan punch
Amir Khan punch

(Al Bello/Getty Images)

Just moments after beating Chris Algieri in a unanimous decision, British welterweight Amir Khan already had one person on his mind: the undefeated pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter in the world, Floyd Mayweather Jr.

"Look, I think everybody knows Amir Khan wants to fight Floyd Mayweather," Khan told announcer Jimmy Smith after the fight. "I'm the No. 1 WBC contender, Mayweather's the champion, let's make it happen."

Now, Khan has told Press Association Sport that negotiations between the two camps have escalated, and a potential fight is closer than ever before:

"I don't think I have ever been closer to getting the fight with Floyd Mayweather than I am at this moment. The indications are that I have strengthened my case with my win over Algieri and I believe there is every chance the fight could be confirmed within the next two weeks."

Following Mayweather's historic bout against longtime rival Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather initially told ESPN's Stephen A .Smith that he would give Pacquiao a rematch once Pacquiao fully recovered from his shoulder surgery. However, he later changed his mind, saying Pacquiao used his injury as an excuse for his lopsided unanimous defeat.

Once Mayweather squashed any talk about a possible rematch against Pacquiao, he and his camp proceeded to evaluate all remaining options. Khan, who early on in his career was actually one of Pacquiao's sparring partners, is one name that his father and trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr., mentioned to Mirror's Dave Kidd. Mayweather Sr. said Khan would be an 'easy' opponent, and make for a 'good fight' for his son:

"I’ll tell you what I think my son should do in September — given he’s fought all the hard-hitters — my son needs to get his contract and end it with an easy fight, he don’t need no tough fights. Amir Khan? Yes, that’d be a good fight for him. My son would beat him, I know. Of course it would be easier than Pacquiao. Khan has a pretty decent jab but all the technical things, he can’t do [them]."

A fight between Mayweather and Khan has been rumored for over a year now. Mayweather, in fact, once took to Twitter to ask fans to vote on his next opponent — Khan or Marcos Maidana:

While Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole reported Khan actually won the poll, getting 20,105 votes to 15,474 for Maidana, Mayweather decided to fight Maidana anyway.

Now it appears that Mayweather might actually give the fans what they want, and end his career with a bout against Khan in September.

NOW WATCH: Here's what happens when you get bitten by a black widow



More From Business Insider