Boxing Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya is still convinced that Amir Khan will eventually get a shot against Floyd Mayweather Jr. next year.
De La Hoya said in an interview with USA Today that Khan, who almost got his dream bout earlier this year, is still pushing for a showdown against the reigning pound-for-pound king.
"I believe it will happen," De La Hoya said. "I've been talking to Amir. He wants the fight."
De La Hoya added that the British boxing icon is still interested in facing Mayweather because he is confident that he has all the tools to score a huge upset win against the unbeaten champion, who is coming off two straight victories against Marcos Maidana.
"He believes he has the style, the ability to surprise Mayweather," De La Hoya said of Khan. "Amir is a guy who is already an icon in the U.K. He throws a lot of fast combinations and he moves. He's quick, he has youth behind him, we feel it could be a very good fight. It's a matter of when and where."
Mayweather ran away with a unanimous decision win against Maidana in their rematch last month. But while the 37-year-old managed to keep his record unblemished, Khan is convinced that age is catching up with Mayweather.
"I was watching him and I was noticing a few things that he was not doing before," Khan said via Fighthype. "Like, you know, he was dropping his hands a little bit more and he was staying in the pocket a little bit too long. His feet were not moving as efficient as they normally move. They weren't as quick."
Khan also noticed that Mayweather's vaunted punch combination is not as deadly as before, saying that the Grand Rapids native is now contented with throwing single punches to his opponent.
"He was throwing a lot of single punches, whereas before, there were a lot of combinations being thrown by him," Khan said of Mayweather. "I mean, some fighters can overnight turn old. If I was fighting Maidana that day, I think I would've done things a lot different."
