Phil Lo Greco is not satisfied with the monetary terms for an April showdown with former world champion Amir Khan (31-4, 19 KOs).
Khan, who recently signed a three fight deal with promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom, is scheduled to return on April 21 at Liverpool's Echo Arena in a Sky Sports televised fight.
The Bolton boxer has been out of the ring since May of 2016, when he moved up to a catch-weight of 155-pounds to challenge Canelo Alvarez for the WBC middleweight title. Khanwas knocked out in the sixth round.
Part of the problem for Lo Greco (28-3, 15 KOs), is the firm term of the fight taking place at the welterweight limit of 147-pounds.
Lo Greco has not fought at 147 since at least 2011. He weighed 163-pounds for his last out in June of 2017.
He's willing to get down to 147 for the fight - but he needs the right money to get a team together to ensure he makes the weight limit in a safe manner.
At the same time, Lo Greco is shocked that Khan is insisting on the welterweight limit - when the goal for Khan is a showdown with Kell Brook, who makes his junior middleweight debut in March.
"They got in touch with my managers, made me an offer, I asked them what the weight would be and they said 147lbs," Lo Greco exclusively told Sky Sports.
"OK, I said, but if they want me to fight at 147lbs it is going to cost a little bit more because I didn't think it was reasonable enough. I said 'I will do it. I haven't done it for a few years and I can get down to 147lbs and fight him'. That was my counter-offer. Then I started thinking, wait a minute, why are they wanting to fight at 147lbs yet realistically the fans are hoping to make a fight with him and Kell Brook, but Brook is up at 154lbs.
"Does that mean he doesn't actually want to fight him? Is he fooling the public? Doesn't he want to give the fans in the UK what they want to see? Eddie Hearn has a great deal with Sky Sports, this is a main event fight and I am being very, very, very reasonable. The problem is getting down to 147lbs comes at an expense. I need the right people around, proper nutritionists, proper doctors, it's a whole different science. I am not going to put my body through that misery with a large expense when I know the fight is worth lot more."
