By Rick Reeno

Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya is back in the swing of things with HBO. The network severed their ties with Golden Boy in the first quarter of 2013. De La Hoya has been able to rebuild the relationship in the wake of Richard Schaefer's June departure from his CEO position at Golden Boy.

One of the fights mentioned by De La Hoya is a battle of former Wild Card stablemates with Amir Khan facing WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, who is scheduled to face Chris Algieri next month in Macau.

Khan (29-3, 19KOs), promoted by Golden Boy and managed by Al Haymon, was being positioned to return to Showtime on December 6th. His return date is now up in air, because Golden Boy is staging a show on the same date, on HBO, with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez facing Joshua Clottey in the main event.

Stephen Espinoza, head of Showtime Sports, confirms to BoxingScene.com that Khan is still under an exclusive agreement with his network. Espinoza is willing to explore a potential fight between Khan and Pacquiao. And he's also willing to discuss the scenario of coming together with HBO to make the fight happen. Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum has often discussed the idea of an HBO/Showtime union to make a mega-fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

"Amir Khan has an exclusive contract with Showtime. We are looking at having him back on the network before the end of the year. We would consider any opponent, but the reality is - it would have to be on Showtime. We would be open to discussing any kind of arrangement. It's an interesting fight. We're willing to discuss it," Espinoza told BoxingScene.com.

Mayweather holds the keys to a Pacquiao-Khan encounter. Khan is aggressively gunning for a fight with Mayweather on May 2. If Mayweather goes in a different direction, Khan will likely turn his attention to Pacquiao or a domestic showdown with countryman Kell Brook.