Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, has played down talk of a fight between Floyd Mayweather and Amir Khan, insisting he has held no such discussions.
A report emerged from Jeff Powell of the Daily Mail earlier in the week claiming the mega-bout had been agreed, but Ellerbe says a deal is not even close:
"I think if there were discussions, Mr. (Al) Haymon (Mayweather's adviser) and I would be well aware of them," Ellerbe said, per David Mayo of MLive.
Ellerbe went on to describe the story as a "ridiculous rumour," per Mayo's article.
It had been claimed in Powell’s report that the welterweight pair would clash on May 3 in Las Vegas, with Khan earning at least $6 million:
The official announcement will be made in the next few days and Khan has already pulled out of his challenge to world welterweight champion Devon Alexander, scheduled for Dec. 7 in New York, to ensure that his dream fight with Mayweather is not jeopardised.
However, Khan’s camp immediately moved to quash the report, releasing a statement via Sky Sports that claimed he is still very much focused on his forthcoming world title fight with Alexander.
Now Ellerbe has poured further cold water on the story, adding in Mayo’s article:
Floyd fought two weeks ago. Can't he take a vacation without talking about another opponent? ...
At the end of the day, when the time is right, Floyd will make the decision on who, what, when and where, because that's what bosses do.
Intriguingly, Khan has been silent over the matter, despite his usual regular presence on social media tool Twitter.
The Brit has tweeted since reports emerged that he could fight Mayweather, but none have addressed the story that is dominating boxing.
Khan did call for the fight to be made in the aftermath of Saul Alvarez’s defeat to Mayweather, tweeting the following on Sept. 16:
However, it would seem too great a jump for the Brit to take, moving up to welterweight directly into a clash with the world’s best boxer.
A test against the less dangerous Alexander would be the ideal stepping stone for Khan, who could then carry a world title into a showdown of two champions against Mayweather.
The entire situation will ultimately be dictated by the camp of Mayweather. The money on offer is almost impossible to turn down, so logic goes out the window when opponents are offered the chance to fight the American.
If Mayweather wants Khan next, it will likely happen. However, for the good of Khan’s career progress, that showdown will arrive two or three fights down the road.
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