Amir Khan vs. Devon Alexander Fight Date and Location Announced

Amir Khan is set to fight American Devon Alexander at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Dec. 13 as the Englishman continues in his quest to eventually face Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The bout between Khan and Alexander has been mooted for some time, per BBC Sport, and was finally confirmed Monday, per the Daily Mail:

Khan (29-3, 19 KOs) has long been eager to face the undefeated Mayweather—or alternatively the similarly high-profile Manny Pacquiao—but said back in August that he needed another fight before that could be a possibility, per BBC Sport:

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Those fights [with Pacquiao or Mayweather] can definitely happen in the future but I need a 'tickover fight' in December. [...]

Opponent-wise we have looked at a few names, such as Devon Alexander or Robert Guerrero, but we have not confirmed anything just yet. We have to make sure they are available at the time.

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It seems that Alexander (26-2, 14 KOs)—whose most recent fight saw him bounce back from a loss to Shawn Porter to beat Jesus Soto Karass in June—is available and the former WBC and IBF light welterweight champion will pose a significant threat to Khan.

The Bolton-born fighter impressed in his last outing, stepping up to welterweight to beat Luis Collazo in Las Vegas in May.

Jason DeCrow/Associated Press

A defeat to Alexander would no doubt see Khan's hopes of fighting Mayweather reduced to zero, but another good turn may well be a stepping stone to a showpiece bout.

As Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports points out, the date picked for Alexander against Khan clashes with an encounter between Timothy Bradley and Diego Chaves, also in Vegas at The Cosmopolitan on the same day.

Boxing fans will therefore be spoiled for choice when Dec. 13 comes around, but for Khan and Alexander there will be no distractions as each fighter will be looking to send out a statement with a convincing victory.