For months Floyd Mayweather Jr. has appeared to be on a collision course with British fighter Amir Khan; as early as October the U.K.'s Daily Mail had reported the fight was agreed to.
Still no official announcement has been made despite a truly staggering lack of potential options for Mayweather. He's vanquished Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez already, and refuses to work with Top Rank CEO Bob Arum to make a Manny Pacquiao fight happen.
Marcos Maidana loomed as an option after beating Adrien Broner to a pulp in December, but Broner reportedly exercised a rematch clause. That rematch clause must not be overly binding however, because Mayweather took to social media to have fans pick either Khan or Maidana as his next opponent. He asked, "Who should I fight next" and posted a photo of the two side by side.
Who should I fight next? Go to https://t.co/5sw7zBhXwo and vote. I'm going to let the fans decide. pic.twitter.com/Os9kFyAJj2
— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) February 4, 2014
Showtime's brass has pined for Khan based more on his large following and fighting style than his resume. Many believe Khan's quick hands and superb technical skills pose a threat Mayweather hasn't faced before. Maidana is a more traditional Mayweather foe, because he is large, punches hard, but lacks speed.
Khan's resume is shaky at best though to earn a mega fight such as this, and fans have been vocal in their displeasure. He has been knocked out in devastating fashion twice in his career, and was floored in his most recent win over journeyman Julio Diaz.
"Originally, they were thinking Khan," Floyd's uncle Jeff Mayweather said. "But with so much negative feedback, with the blogs and various things -- it seemed like every time you saw Amir Khan's name attached to it, it said he had no chance."
He went on to say that Maidana's the hotter name right now, and fans don't feel Khan deserves the opportunity.
"Amir Khan doesn't have a title and he hasn't done anything to deserve a shot," Jeff Mayweather said. "People want to see Floyd against the guy who beat Adrien Broner. They want to compare the imitator against the genuine one. Realistically, that's what he (Broner) is, an imitator of the legitimate thing."
Also, while Maidana isn't billed as having the major following Khan has, Jeff Mayweather said his popularity in Great Britain is overstated. "Khan isn't like Ricky Hatton. Most people don't even like him there."
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.