Amir Khan: "My Speed Will Beat Mayweather. Then I'll Fight Pacquiao!"

Interesting article here: Amir Khan on Mayweather: ‘He is undefeated and I want to be the one to defeat him’ Amir Khan, the former two-time light-welterweight champion, has his sights set on a dream fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr next year. The British boxer will not fight again this year after a bout against the IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander failed to materialise. Khan says he will spend the rest of the year focusing on training and hoping for the possibility of a box-office bout against Mayweather. Alexander suggested that Khan pulled out of the proposed fight – Dubai was considered as the host site – because he considered the American a threat to his career and potentially damaging to his chances of landing a future fight against Mayweather. “It’s not true that I cancelled the fight because I did not want to face him, but the negotiations between our teams did not end with an agreement,” Khan said. “Devon decided to fight Shawn Porter instead and my team and I decided it’s best I don’t fight this year, but rather work on my training. I have been working very hard with Virgil Hunter, improving myself as a better fighter.” Khan, the 2004 Olympic silver medallist whose professional record is 28-3, currently fights at the 140lbs (63.5kg) light-welterweight division. He will have to move up to welterweight (147lbs) or possibly the light-middleweight (154lbs) class to fight Mayweather. “I agree it will be a disadvantage for me to a certain point, and on paper, as I have not fought a fight at this weight,” he said. “I wanted to fight Devon Alexander this year. But I feel 147lbs or 154lbs is my natural weight. “I have struggled to keep 140lbs and I should’ve moved to 147lbs a long time ago. “But I feel fit and strong so far at 147. I have been training very hard for the past 8-10 weeks. My next fight will be in May 2014, and I hope it’s against Mayweather. “My team are working to make this happen, but I am not focusing on it. My aim is to focus on my training and get as fitter and stronger as I can.” After Manny Pacquiao beat Brandon Rios last week, Khan’s former trainer Freddie Roach, now with Pacquiao, suggested the Filipino fighter would be a far more lucrative pay-per-view (PPV) draw if paired with Mayweather. Khan disagrees. “I have a lot of respect for Freddie and Manny, he is a good friend of mine,” Khan said. “For sure, Manny is a very popular fighter in the US and around the world, but so am I. I am a Muslim Pakistani-British and there are a lot of Muslims in the US and around the world, and Muslims always support a fellow Muslim. “I am very grateful to have amazing support in Britain and among Asians around the world. I would say Mayweather, Manny and myself are the most popular boxers in the game. I mean, you can tell that from our Twitter followers. That says it all.” Mayweather is two bouts into a six-fight, US$300 million (Dh1.1 billion) contract with US broadcaster Showtime. It was rumoured that Showtime actually lost money on the PPV sales from the first fight in the contract, May’s bout against Robert Guerrero at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Therefore, they might want to pair Mayweather with a high-profile opponent for his next fight. “I can say, there are only two fighters who can get in the PPV revenue, that is myself or Manny,” Khan said. “I am fast, I am a kind of fighter Mayweather has never faced. It’s not me, but the whole world wants to see this fight happen, they want to see if Mayweather can stand in the ring and fight a fighter as fast as me or Manny.