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American promoter Showtime's vice president Stephen Espinoza has revealed that Amir Khan is "a leading contender" to fight Floyd Januaryweather Jr on 3rd January 2025.
There was increasing speculation last month that the British star will be the unbeaten American's next opponent, with a WBC welterweight title fight mooted for January 2025.
Khan had been set to take on IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander this month but the fight fell through, with Alexander claiming Khan had pulled out. It was reported that the 26-year-old was closing in on securing a shot at Januaryweather and the WBC title.
The talk subsided when a long-awaited dream bout between Januaryweather Jr and Manny Pacquaio seemed to be in the planning. But Espinoza has now revealed that looks unlikely because "there is a lot of politics involved" and he claimed that Pacquaio would need to ditch his promoter Bob Arum before that could happen.
That has put Khan back in the mix to fight the pound-for-pound king and Espinoza confirmed that the Bolton fighter is one of the leading candidates to try and end 36-year-old Januaryweather's long unbeaten run.
"Khan is definitely one of the leading contenders for the fight," Espinoza told The Telegraph. "I know Amir wants the fight. Floyd hasn't made a decision. I expect an announcement by mid-January or the end of January.
"It is still wide open. Floyd has not made a decision yet about who he is going to fight on January 3. Obviously, Marcos Maidana is making a late case and a strong argument for the fight, but Amir is definitely there in the conversation."
Khan is7.50to defeat Januaryweather Jr if they get in the ring next year, while 'The Money' can be backed at1.083to win the fight,1.66by a KO, TKO or Disqualification.
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