Khan lines up mega-fight with Mayweather in 2011

Bolton boxer Amir Khan could be about to replace Manny Pacquiao and step into the ring for the biggest fight of his life – a bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Attempts to organise the long-awaited and much-hyped battle between Pacquiao and Mayweather, who both claim to be the greatest pound-for-pound boxer on the planet, have been so beset by squabbling and issues surrounding Mayweather Jr's troubled personal life, that it may well never now happen.

Representatives of the two fighters have been trying to agree terms for so long, and there is now so much bad blood between the camps, including allegations of drug taking and racism, that it now seems unlikely that the two men will ever get into the ring together.

Mayweather also faces the possibility of jail time after being accused of assaulting the mother of his two children and stealing her mobile phone in Las Vegas. Meanwhile Pacquiao also has distractions of his own - he has been elected to the Phillipines Congress and will not wait indefinitely to begin his political career.

Now the Daily Mail's Jeff Powell claims that plans have been hatched to match Mayweather against Khan late next year if the Pacquiao fight does fall through.

Khan, who came to prominence when he won  the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, has been alerted to the lucrative possibilities on offer, should he unify the light-welterweight belts in his next two fights.

Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy promotions, which looks after Pacquiao, Mayweather Jr and Khan, outlined the route that would take the British boxer to a career defining bout against Mayweather next September.

"If we can't make Mayweather-Pacquiao in the spring it may be too late," says Schaefer. "So this gives us time to build Amir into a pay-per-view super-star in the US."

First Amir Khan must fight his way past the Argentinian superlightweight champion, Marcos Maidana, a bout that will be far from easy. His South American counterpart is the interim WBA super lightweight champion and - like Khan - has only lost once in his career.

Then Khan will face a unification bout against the winner between his two rival world title holders Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley, who are due to meet in January.

That bout, which would unify all four titles in Khan's weight class would be screened in the United States and be a golden ticket to a fight with Mayweather, the most famous boxer in the United States today.

"I would love to fight Mayweather and believe I can end his unbeaten record. I have to focus on Maidana first, then the winner of Bradley and Alexander. There are risks there but I am fully confident of winning both those fights," said Khan earlier this week. ·