By Jonathan Shrager
Former two division world champion Paulie Malignaggi says Amir Khan has certainly earned the opportunity to challenge WBC/WBA welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. Malignaggi was stopped by Khan back in 2010, when the British boxer made his American debut in New York City.
There are ongoing negotiations for a fight between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. If those discussions fall apart, then Malignaggi strongly believes Khan should be next in line for a big Mayweather opportunity.
While he picks Mayweather to defeat Pacquiao, he is not fully convinced of the pound-for-pound king being able to beat Khan.
"I [think Khan] deserves the Mayweather fight. If Floyd doesn’t fight Manny Pacquiao, Amir has certainly stated his case to be the next in line. I have actually gone on record as saying that Amir is much more dangerous for Floyd than Manny. I think Floyd beats Pacquiao, but I’m not convinced Floyd beats Amir at this point in time. So he’s more than earned the right to fight Mayweather, but Mayweather-Pacquiao is the fight everyone wants to see. If that fight materializes, then Amir will naturally take a back seat," Malignaggi said to BoxingScene.com.
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