Amir Khan has conceded that he had to go ahead with his fight against Chris Algieri because he couldn’t secure a bout against any of his preferred opponents.
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Khan has long chased a meeting with Floyd Mayweather, and that pursuit will continue after this Friday provided that he defeats Algieri at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
With Mayweather expected to call time on his career after his last fight on September 12, the Brit wants to put himself in a strong position to be at the front of the queue to face the American by producing a stylish win over his next opponent.
However, the New York native was by no means his preferred choice and Khan was forced to secure the fight, one that he still believes is a great fight, rather than risk staying inactive until it was too late to take on Mayweather.
“There were a few names I wanted to fight. Broner was another name, which I got no response back. Another one, Miguel Cotto, would have been a great fight for me,” Khan said, ESPN reports.
“Boxing has a lot of different promotion teams, there are a lot of TV networks that work separately and it’s really hard to get a fight that you want.
“I thought before I make the mistake where I wait so long and I don’t get the fight that I want, and I don’t get to fight in May, then I’m going to have to make the Algieri fight.”
The 28-year-old vowed earlier this month that he wouldn’t continue to chase Mayweather in the same manner that he has done previously.
However, he continues to mention the 38-year-old in numerous interviews and it is clear from his latest admission that he now concedes he merely wanted to keep busy in order to be ready for a potential call in September and had to fight prior to observing Ramadan next month.
Khan should come through unscathed on Friday night, but it remains to be seen whether or not it will do anything to help his chances of landing his dream fight.
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