Amir Khan to fight Collazo on Mayweather undercard

LAS VEGAS – England’s Amir Khan, unhappy with Floyd Mayweather after being snubbed for a May 3 fight with the unbeaten US star, said Monday he will fight on the Mayweather undercard.

Khan will face American southpaw Luis Collazo ahead of Mayweather’s match-up with Argentina’s Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas.

The fight will be Khan’s first moving up into the welterweight category and will in some ways be an audition for a big-money fight against Mayweather.

“My intention on May 3 is to make a statement that I belong on this big stage,” Khan said. “A win on May 3 is what I need to prove that I truly am one of the best welterweights in the sport.”

I will be fighting Luis Collazo on May 3rd Las Vegas #MayweatherMaidana Chief support

— Amir Khan (@AmirKingKhan) March 24, 2014

Last month, Khan took to Twitter to vent his anger with Mayweather after he was snubbed for Maidana having being forced to wait for months for the American to make up his mind.

“I am very disappointed with Floyd and his team for not providing any explanation as to why he delayed the announcement for so long and ultimately avoided the fight with me,” Khan tweeted in February. “It has been a very frustrating period as I had been due to fight in December.”

Khan, 28-3 with 19 knockouts, has not fought since last April 27 and skipped a planned December bout with US southpaw Devon Alexander for the International Boxing Federation title in anticipation of a big-money showdown with Mayweather.

Instead, it will be the longest layoff of his career, just over a year, before he climbs into the ring with Collazo, who is 35-5 with 18 knockouts.

Former world welterweight champion Collazo won by a second-round knockout of Victor Ortiz in January.

“Luis Collazo might be coming off of a big win, but I am in incredible shape and am ready for this challenge,” Khan said.

Collazo sees this as a chance to book his own date with Mayweather, who is being wooed by Collazo’s hometown arena in the Brooklyn section of New York to stage a bout there.

“Defeating Victor Ortiz in January was just the beginning,” Collazo said. “Facing and beating Amir Khan on the biggest stage in the sport is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I will take full advantage of this and put myself in the best position to face the winner of the main event.

“I hope Khan is ready because Brooklyn is coming to take him down.”

For his part, Mayweather posted a Twitter message saying his workouts under trainer Roger Mayweather were fine.

“Training camp is going well. My uncle Roger is still carefree about his dress attire and his appearance but we always seem to get the job done… that is paramount!” Mayweather tweeted. – Rappler.com