By Edward Chaykovsky

Showtime Sports VP Stephen Espinoza credits the popularity of Amir Khan (28-3, 19KOs) as the driving force for his frontrunner position to land a shot at WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (46-0, 26KOs) on May 3rd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Khan is reportedly the likely candidate to face Mayweather, but boxers like WBA welterweight champion Marcos Maidana are also under consideration. Everything is pointing to a Mayweather-Khan battle. Khan recently revealed that he signed his end of the bout agreement for the May 3 fight, while Maidana's team members have publically disclosed that nobody has reached out to them for a Mayweather fight. 

"There's no doubt that Amir has quite literally a worldwide fan base and a very demographically diverse fan base," Espinoza told CNBC, adding that among active boxers, Khan ranks second in total Twitter followers (after Mayweather). "That doesn't happen by accident," he said.

Khan also told the outlet that his worldwide popularity makes him a far more lucrative choice than Maidana or Danny Garcia.

 "You know the English love to travel for a fight, to watch a big fight," Khan told CNBC. "It's a great position I'm in, and I think it's great to have the following I have. If Floyd wants to be a superstar, he needs to face guys who have a big following, especially elsewhere in the world."