Promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport insists he has done all he can to make the all-British fight happen between Kell Brook and Amir Khan - but claims Khan - or his team - are too afraid of the America-based cash cow losing to Brook.
"I'd love the Amir Khan fight but you lose the passion to talk about the fight," Hearn said. "I can't even be bothered to hype the fight anymore because it seems too far away from being made.
"Khan is a brilliant fighter. You can't knock him. But you get to this stage and you think 'you're just too scared to fight Kell Brook'.
"I'm sorry, but it's the truth. I don't mean physically scared, I mean scared of losing.
"We're going to miss out on this fight happening and one day we're going to sit down when we're old and say 'it was a shame that fight never happened'.
"Khan says it's not about the money. Then he says it's not about fighting for Kell's world title. Well what is it about? He then says 'it's all about the legacy'.
"Well in that case, come and have a major fight at an outdoor stadium in Britain. That's a legacy, isn't it?"