Amir Khan Says Fight With Mayweather Is Lined Up For 2012

Amir Khan says that a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr is in place, and he makes it sound like it could happen in late 2012. From BoxingScene.com:

"Mayweather has agreed to fight me but we can't look too far ahead.  I am moving to 147 and maybe my third fight at the weight (will be against Floyd).  I think it is a timing game where a young, hungry fighter comes up and takes him out.  I want to clean up boxing.  He talks a lot of trash, disrespects fighters, disrespects presenters and I'd never do that, he should be the face of boxing in a good way not a bad way."

Ah, yes, Amir Khan would never talk a lot of trash or disrespect fighters. Not ever! He definitely doesn't say that everyone at 140 is scared of him, has never called Timothy Bradley/Erik Maidana/Robert Guerrero cowardly (more or less), he's never ripped Marcos Maidana or Breidis Prescott, he definitely didn't question Guerrero's injury in August (even though he feebly apologized). No way. No sir. Not Amir Khan, model boxing citizen. He does his talking with his fists.

Khan is making the move to 147 if and when he defeats Lamont Peterson on December 10, which means he could potentially fight in the first quarter of 2012, maybe again in the summer, and then once more late in the year, perhaps in December again. If he wants to stretch it out to two fights and then Mayweather at 147 pounds, it would have to be late in the year. This year, Khan fought in April, July, and December. That could happen again, and it's not like Mayweather would be out for an unusual length of time if he sat out the 15 months between his last fight and December 2012.

I do think of all the fighters at or around the weight, Khan has one of the better chances against Floyd. For all the guff Khan takes for his chin, it's proving to be not quite so terrible, and while Mayweather is sharp, fast, and accurate, he's not the big puncher that people generally worry about with Khan. Tall and rangy, Khan has great hand speed of his own, and if he could establish a jab...

But it's all very early forecasting. Let's see how Khan looks at 147, how he does with Peterson even before that, and worry about it when the talk is really serious. But of all the guys out there, Khan is up there on my personal wish list for a Mayweather fight next year.