Welterweight Amir Khan is losing hope his number will be called in the "Mayweather Sweepstakes," and that Andre Berto will be fighting "Money" Mayweather instead on September 12.
"My gut feeling is he's avoiding me, doesn't want to fight me, and he wants to go and take an easy fight, someone like Berto," Khan said.
"Plan B at the moment, it's only been a month since my last fight. I'll sit down with Al Haymon. And Al advises Mayweather and he has no idea what he's doing. We'll sit down with Al and my team, there are some good fights for me out there. First we'll see what Mayweather wants to do and go from there."
Khan has been angling for a shot at Mayweather since 2014, when Mayweather bypassed him to face Marcos Maidana twice. Earlier this year Khan was bumped aside for Manny Pacquiao in "The Fight of the Century" on May 2. Now, Berto appears to have truly taken the lead in this race.
Part of the reason for Berto being so firmly in the running is the possibility of Mayweather's next fight being televised on CBS; it would be Mayweather's first non-pay-per-view bout in a decade. The financial particulars for staging a Mayweather fight on CBS may take time to iron out. Mayweather has a record-breaking deal with Showtime that includes revenue-sharing. Without pay-per-view sales to draw from, CBS would have to agree to a pre-fight number to pay him based off expected advertising revenue.
The range they could charge for ads for a Mayweather fight may be exorbitant. 30-second spots during the Super Bowl cost about $4.2 million, while the same slots for typical sporting events run between $400,000 and $750,000. For Mayweather, who has grown accustomed to being $30 million richer before he puts a toe in the ring, CBS will be trying to charge closer to those Super Bowl rates if a CBS fight happens.
Part of facing Berto on CBS is that Berto is less than a stellar choice. Should Mayweather fight Khan, he would be unwise to do that matchup on anything but pay-per-view given Khan's name recognition and fan base. Berto does not have the same following, nor the same resume.
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