Floyd Mayweather shuts down claims of an exhibition bout with Amir Khan
Floyd Mayweather has said he is not interested in fighting Amir Khan in an exhibition bout as he claims the British boxer is a ‘cloud chaser’ that needs to realise he was never ‘one of the greats’.
The two fighters – who almost came to blows in 2015 before Mayweather decided to face Marcos Maidana instead – have been linked with an exhibition bout following their retirement from professional boxing.
However, Mayweather has dismissed claims he will face Khan – claiming the 35-year-old has been ‘reaching his whole career’. Mayweather has also slammed the British boxer by saying he is unknown in the US.
Floyd Mayweather (above) has criticised Amir Khan – calling the British boxer a ‘cloud chaser’
Khan – who called out Mayweather for an exhibition bout two weeks after retiring – recently said he would have beaten the American boxer when they were both in their prime.
Sportsmail sat down with Mayweather and asked him what he made of Khan’s comments. The retired boxer said that Khan needed to ‘look in the mirror’ and stop chasing ‘clouds’.
Speaking exclusively to Sportsmail, Mayweather said: It’s great that he [Amir Khan] feels that way. But you’ve got to look in the mirror Khan against Canelo and look at me against Canelo. That’s your answer right there.
Mayweather has said that Khan (above) needs to realise he was never ‘one of the greats’
Khan retired in May of this year after a knock-out defeat to long-term rival Kell Brook
‘I’m not even worried about Amir Khan. I want to go out there this weekend in Tokyo and have fun [against Mikuru Asakura].
‘Then I have another exhibition in Dubai in November and me and Conor McGregor in 2023.
‘Amir Khan is reaching and reaching and reaching. He has been reaching and reaching and reaching his whole career.
‘He was a pretty cool fighter but he wasn’t a Floyd Mayweather or any of the other top guys. He did what he had to do. He’s a cloud chaser.’
Mayweather went on to say: ‘See it’s crazy you brought Amir Khan’s name up. I guess he is big in the UK but no one in the US really knows him unless you’re really into boxing.’
The 35-year-old has insisted he would have beaten Mayweather when they were in their prime
Mayweather (R) has said Khan needs to compare their performances against Cenlo (L) to see the difference in their abilities
Mayweather’s comments come shortly after Khan said he could have ‘outboxed’ the American when they were both in their prime.
‘You know what? I’d beat him. Honestly, I’d beat him,’ said Khan, who retired earlier this year after losing to long-term rival Kell Brook.
Khan added: ‘If I was in my prime and he was in his prime I’m very confident. I’m going to get a lot of hate for that.
‘I’m sorry guys, but you have to believe in yourself and that’s one thing I’ve always done throughout my career.’
During his career, Khan lost six of his professional fights. One of those loses came against Lamont Peterson. The controversial points decision saw Khan’s world title reign come to an end.
Khan lost six of his professional fights. One of those loses came against Lamont Peterson (L)
Khan faced Danny Garcia next in an attempt to claim the WBC and WBA belts. However, he was knocked out in the fourth round after being caught off guard with a powerful left hook.
Khan then made the decision to move up to middleweight to challenge Canelo for the WBC belt. It was an ambitious move that ended badly for the British boxer. He was knocked out in the sixth round of their clash in May 2016.
Khan was also stopped by Terence Crawford in the sixth round of their WBO title fight in April 2019 before losing to long-term rival Brook during their clash earlier this year.
However, Khan did enjoy periods of success during his career as well. He managed to beat the likes of Paul Malignaggi and Zab Judah when he was world champion between 2009 and 2012. He also registered 32 more victories across the course of his career – knocking out 21 of those opponents.
Meanwhile, Mayweather (L) finished his career with a perfect 50-0 record – beating the likes of Ricky Hatton, Manny Pacquiao (R) and Conor McGregor to become a household name
Mayweather (L) is back in the ring this weekend to face Mikuru Asakura (R) in an exhibition
Meanwhile, Mayweather finished his career with a perfect 50-0 record – beating the likes of Ricky Hatton, Manny Pacquiao and Conor McGregor to become a household name in boxing.
Nevertheless, Khan is convinced he could have beaten Mayweather when they were both in their prime. He thinks he could have ‘out boxed’ the American thanks to his ‘speed’ and ‘movement’.
Khan said: ‘I think stylistically when Mayweather was a lot younger he had a lot of speed, a lot of movement. But I feel that my speed would have beaten his speed, my movement would have beaten his movement and he really wasn’t the biggest puncher in the game so it would have been like a game of chess but I would have outboxed him.’