Amir Khan claims that Floyd Mayweather is still keen on arranging an exhibition bout between the pair, despite his recent retirement announcement.
The former world champions have both hung up their gloves after glittering careers, with Mayweather still competing in unsanctioned exhibition bouts, including his meeting with Don Moore on Saturday night. And even though Khan has now finished fighting, the pair could meet in the ring after they crossed paths in Dubai a few weeks ago, with Mayweather reportedly "excited" about the prospect.
Khan ended his career after a loss to Kell Brook in his last outing back in February, while the American retired on top by beating UFC legend Conor McGregor in 2017. Since that massive crossover bout, Mayweather has gone on to compete against kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa and YouTube star Logan Paul in two major exhibition bouts, the latter of which drew one million pay-per-view buys.
And speaking with TalkSPORT, Khan confirmed that there is still interest for a bout between he and Mayweather, despite them being unable to make it happen in their primes. The Brit's fight with Brook was similarly too late in both men's careers, but still drew massive interest and pay-per-view money.
"Look, exhibitions always happen," Khan explained. "I met Floyd the other day in Dubai and there was some excitement there, he was like 'don't retire, let's do something, there's something we can do'.
"I was like 'maybe if it didn't happen when we were both professional fighters, maybe it can happen as an exhibition'. No-one wins, it's just a bit of fun to give the fans a bit of entertainment.
"I think now with boxing, it's totally changed now where a lot of these fights happen, social media guys fight each other, and a new door's been open. People can just step in after a week of training and have a fight!"
Mayweather will first have to get through his former sparring partner Moore at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. He was unable to stop Paul when they fought last summer, with the 35lb weight difference between them proving enough to save the YouTuber from being stopped despite being thoroughly beaten.
Would you watch an exhibition bout between Floyd Mayweather and Amir Khan? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
During the pair's fighting careers, Khan tried to no avail to face Mayweather in a sanctioned world title fight. The closest he got was in 2014, when the Brit was voted in a public poll on the undefeated star's account as the suitable next opponent, but the American elected to face Marcos Maidana.
Khan was eyeing up another fight with Brook after being stopped in their grudge match, but even after invoking their rematch clause he decided against it. "You’re only one punch away from getting hurt, knocked out or killed," he explained earlier this week.
"While I’ve got the chips on my side, I’m happy to walk away and call it a day. You’re always one punch away from getting hurt, that’s something I was always scared of, I wouldn’t be there for the kids. There’s no point making all this money and you don’t enjoy it.”
