SHO VP: Mayweather's Backup Options - Cotto and Khan

By Edward Chaykovsky

WBC/WBA welterweight and junior middleweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (47-0, 26KOs) already has backup plan in place - if the ongoing negotiations to make a fight with WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao fall apart.

Stephen Espinoza, the top man at Showtime Sports, says Mayweather is fighting on May 2nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas - with or without Pacquiao. The Filipino star is Mayweather's first option, but Espinoza says there are two others. If the Pacquiao fight falls through, then top welterweight contender Amir Khan would become an option and so would WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto.

Khan, who shares the same adviser as Mayweather in Al Haymon, has been chasing a fight with Floyd since 2013. Cotto, who lost a competitive twelve round decision to Mayweather in 2012, would present Floyd with the opportunity to become the first fighter in history to hold three WBC world titles in three weight divisions simultaneously.

“He’s definitely fighting on May 2,” Espinoza told the Daily News. “His first choice by far is Manny Pacquiao. If it becomes clear that that fight is not achievable, then he would move on to either Amir Khan or Miguel Cotto. He’s made it clear to us that Pacquiao is still his No. 1 priority, and that’s where all our energy is focused.”