Amir Khan thought forming an affiliation with Al Haymon would have helped him earn a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. He thought wrong.
Mayweather will meet Andre Berto on Sept. 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, an announcement that was made last week to a collective groan. Berto is 3-3 in his last six fights and not considered a real challenge to the undefeated Mayweather, the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer. The bout will air live on pay-per-view.
Khan thinks there is one very specific reason why Mayweather chose Berto over him.
“I really believe Mayweather thinks I will beat him,” Khan told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “And he definitely is scared. That’s the reason this fight isn’t happening. I really know how to beat him.”
Khan, 28, said that if anyone is going to beat Mayweather, that person needs to have a combination of speed, power and movement. Manny Pacquiao had those things, but he was also lacking something Khan has: a physical size advantage.
“You need to be physically bigger than Floyd Mayweather as well,” Khan said. “And I am. I think Floyd knowing all these advantages I have, he’s probably thinking, ‘I’ve only got one or two fights left in my career, do I really need a hard fight to finish this sport with?'”
With Berto getting the nod, Khan has moved on from a Mayweather bout for now, though it is something he is still interested in down the line. It’s one of the reasons he began fighting for Premier Boxing Champions, the promotion run by Haymon, Mayweather’s advistor.
For the time being, Khan (31-3) is targeting a fight with Pacquiao sometime in the late fall or winter. He also has a potential bout with fellow England native Kell Brook in mind, perhaps in an outdoor stadium next summer. Khan floated the idea of doing it at Wembley.
Khan is also focusing now on a new business opportunity. It was announced Monday that he has become a co-owner of the Super Fight League MMA promotion, which is based out of India. Khan said SFL is hoping to run 52 events next year and he’ll be a major part of the organization.
However, boxing remains Khan’s main priority. Khan believes “deep down” that he’d end Mayweather’s unbeaten run and if the fight never happens he’ll always wonder what if?
“I’m sure there are a lot of boxing fans around the world who think the same thing,” Khan said.
The ball was in Mayweather’s court, though, and he took Berto. Khan thinks Berto has a better chance than people are giving him. But not the kind of chance that Khan, himself, would have against “Money.”
“He’s a businessman,” Khan said. “He’s afraid. He knows he’ll get beat, so why would he meet someone like Amir Khan? Financially he would make a lot of money, but I don’t know what it is.”