Floyd Mayweather Jr. seems like a near-lock to fight Andre Berto on September 12, and even if it's not Berto, recent comments made by his uncle Jeff Mayweather are indicating Amir Khan is out of the running.
During an interview with On The Ropes Radio, Jeff Mayweather said that Khan's constant chatter might have turned Floyd Mayweather Jr. off to him as an opponent.
"I think he killed the fight because he started talking too much," Jeff Mayweather said. "It got to the point where he probably got under Floyd's skin enough that he said 'f**k it, I'm not giving you the fight, not because I can't beat you, just because I'm not going to give you the payday everyone else is begging for.'
"Amir Khan started acting like Floyd needed him. Really? Floyd needs you for what?"
Some may argue that Mayweather Jr. does need a good opponent to draw interest in his September bout after jacking up the pay-per-view price for his matchup with Manny Pacquiao in May to $100. The fight was widely panned for a lack of excitement, and further diminished when Pacquiao said afterward he had fought with a torn labrum in his right shoulder.
There are now rumors that Mayweather Jr. vs. Berto, which has not been made official yet, could be on CBS and not pay-per-view. There are financial hurdles to making that happen, but it is unlikely that Berto would help Mayweather draw a fraction of the buyers that Pacquiao did.
In the meantime, Khan is left to look for a new opponent. He has been called out by fellow U.K. native Kell Brook, the IBF welterweight champion, but Khan doesn't feel like Brook's name is big enough to warrant a bout just yet.
"All he has to do is face some top names, like [Tim] Bradley, [Marcos] Maidana, and [Keith] Thurman," Khan said. "I proved myself by going in and fighting guys at their peak, but with him he's not doing that. Instead he's fought Jo Jo Dan and Frank Gavin in his last two fights. Why not prove himself?"
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