Rumours had been rife in Las Vegas during fight week that Khan’s religious beliefs had a bearing on him participating in a clash in the month of September, which has now been made official by Khan’s publicist Amir Rashid.
“It’s not possible for Amir to fight in September. He will be observing Ramadan in the summer and will start his training camp after to fight again at the end of the year,” Rashid exclusively told World Boxing News on Tuesday.
Khan defeated Luis Collazo at the MGM Grand at the weekend to supposedly seal his place against Mayweather in the autumn, although due to the nature of the American’s close headlining bout with Maidana, a second helping of the main event is now the more likely scenario.
The 27 year-old produced one of his best career performances in totally outclassing Collazo and Khan will be a handful for any welterweight in the world judging by the unanimous decision win handed down to him on Saturday night.
As a place on any Mayweather v Maidana II undercard is now off the table, Khan would be looking at a bout in November or December, with a victory then leading him into a challenge against the winner next May.
Talk may now shift from Mayweather to whom Khan could oppose in the interim, with a rematch against Danny Garcia at the higher limit a distinct possibility – coupled with an encounter opposite Robert Guerrero.
Whether Khan would want to risk his Mayweather shot in a high-profile outing may be up for debate though, as a defeat could end up costing the Bolton man the biggest purse of his boxing career to date.
Follow on Twitter @PhilDJay for tweets of upcoming news on WBN