by Mark Vester
WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan is targeting a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2012. The young British star is scheduled to return on July 23 in the United States. Khan is trying to land a unification with WBC/WBO champion Timothy Bradley, but there appears to be financial issues that are blocking the deal from being finalized, although Khan's team continue to raise the financial stakes to lure Bradley to the table.
Khan is confident that he has the necessary tools to defeat Mayweather, including better speed and a harder punch - and a better trainer in Freddie Roach.
"If you are going to be the best, you have to fight the best," Khan said to The Daily Mirror. "I want to fight at the elite level to show people how good I am and I have the tools to beat Mayweather. I'm faster than him and I have a better punch, but he is technically brilliant and very smart. Those qualities will come to me in time, especially as I have the best trainer in the world in Freddie Roach. I think Mayweather will happen in 2012. "