By Keith Idec

Errol Spence Jr. is open to another transatlantic trip to fight a British star.

Amir Khan and his new promoter, Eddie Hearn, mentioned Spence on Wednesday as a potential opponent for Khan toward the end of his three-fight contract with Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. Spence showed his willingness to travel overseas for a fight in an opponent’s hometown when he traveled to Sheffield, England, and knocked out Kell Brook to win the IBF welterweight title May 27.

There are more meaningful fights out there for Spence – most notably showdowns with WBA/WBC champ Keith Thurman and Terence Crawford. He would be well-compensated for facing Khan, though, and might strongly considered that option while waiting for either of those fights to materialize.

“It’s something I would consider,” Spence told Sky Sports during an interview posted to its website Thursday. “He’s a big name, too, so if my manager came to me with that, I would consider it and talk with my coaches about it. I don’t see why not, why it can’t take place.”

The 27-year-old Spence (22-0, 19 KOs), of DeSoto, Texas, first must make the initial defense of his IBF 147-pound championship against former two-division champion Lamont Peterson (35-3-1, 17 KOs), of Washington, D.C., on January 20. Their scheduled 12-rounder will headline Showtime’s doubleheader from Barclays Center in Brooklyn that night.

The 31-year-old Khan (31-4, 19 KOs) is expected to fight for the first time in nearly two years April 21 at Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. Khan’s opponent hasn’t been chosen.

If Spence eventually fights Khan, the 2012 Olympian thinks it could be a bigger fight than when he battled Brook, who also wants to fight Khan in an event that’d do bigger business in the United Kingdom. The Spence-Brook bout drew a capacity crowd of nearly 30,000 to Bramall Lane, a soccer stadium in Sheffield.

“His name is bigger because he has fought more big names [than Brook],” Spence said. “Amir Khan has been around longer than Kell, fought more big names than Kell and certainly more Americans than Kell. He has basically been an American fighter. Of course, he’s a more known name than Kell Brook.”

Spence isn’t as sure a fight against Khan would be more difficult than boxing Brook (36-2, 25 KOs). Their title fight was competitive before Spence broke Brook down and knocked him out in the 11th round.

“I can’t really say,” Spence said, “but Kell is a lot stronger and probably on that, he’s a lot harder [fight]. But Amir Khan will spend more time moving around the ring and more time boxing, so I couldn’t say right now.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.