Britain’s Amir Khan has declared that his observance of the Muslim festival of Ramadan would not prevent him from fighting Floyd Mayweather in September.
After preserving his unbeaten record with a points victory over Manny Pacquiao in their long-awaited mega-fight last weekend, Mayweather said that his final bout will take place in Las Vegas in September.
Ramadan, during which Muslims are obliged to fast, is due to end on July 17 this year and Khan believes that would give him enough time to fully prepare for an encounter with the American pound-for-pound master.
“I’m not ruling out fighting in September because it’s possible that it could happen,” Khan told journalists during a conference call to promote his May 29 fight against Chris Algieri in New York.
“Mayweather only fights in mid-September and Ramadan will be a little earlier this year, which helps. It gives me enough time to get the training done. So it can happen in September.”
Both Khan and Algieri are former light-welterweight world champions and the 28-year-old Briton, who has a 33-3 record, says it would be wrong to look beyond the former kickboxer (20-1).
“I need to win this fight if I’m to get near any of the big names in boxing,” Khan said. “It’s time to fight Chris Algieri. I’m not going to be fighting Mayweather until I win this fight.
“Winning this fight is everything to me. I’m not looking past Chris because I’ve made that mistake in the past. There are bigger fights out there for me, but this is my focus.”