Floyd Mayweather: Potential Bout with Amir Khan a Poor Substitute for Pacquiao

Floyd Mayweather hinted at retirement following his unanimous decision win over Miguel Cotto on Saturday, but there aren't many out there who believe him when he says he's done.

It's just that they don't really believe a bout with Amir Khan is going to be all the motivation he needs to stay in the game, either.

After Khan's match against Lamont Peterson was canceled due to Peterson's failed drug test, Khan decided to set his sights on a fight against Mayweather later in the year. However, will that matchup be enough to distract fans from the super-fight they really want to see—Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao?

Probably not.

It's too late for Khan to find a suitable replacement for Peterson in a fight that was supposed to take place on May 19. Instead, he'll take a couple of weeks off, support training partner Pacquiao when he fights Timothy Bradley on June 9 and then have his final fight at 140. He then hopes he'll serve as a proxy for his buddy in the fight all fans are clamoring for.

But Mayweather vs. Khan just doesn't inspire the same excitement as Mayweather vs. Pacquaio.

Khan told The Desert Sun's Leighton Ginn that he hopes to move to 147 and participate in a mega-fight against Mayweather: 

"

I know I have a style that gives Floyd problems and I think I can beat him. The honest truth is Lamont Peterson was on something because he knew, and I know all the other fighters out there know they can't beat me, so they have to take something. 

"

Mayweather, at 43-0, is one of the best boxers in the world—maybe even the very best. He is also the ultimate competitor, and he won't back down from a challenge.

Perhaps Khan believes that if he talks a big game, Mayweather will be compelled to shut him up and will give him the fight he wants against one of the top two pay-per-view attractions in the sport. 

But once Mayweather finishes his jail sentence this summer and is looking for some motivation to get back into the ring, he's going to need more than a little smack talk to pull him in Khan's direction. He's going to need a serious challenge to drag him back into action.

In the end, while Khan may be Pacquiao's training partner and buddy, he is no stand-in for the real thing. He isn't enough to give the fans—or Mayweather—the fight they truly want.