Oscar De La Hoya, who would seem to have unshakable faith in Amir Khan, says he is determined to secure him a fight against Manny Pacquiao or – less likely – Floyd Mayweather in 2015.

“I’m pushing for a Pacquiao fight,” the president of Golden Boy Promotions said before Khan’s WBC “silver” welterweight title fight in Las Vegas this weekend against the American Devon Alexander. “And I’m also pushing for a Mayweather fight.”

De La Hoya says Khan “is a perfect example” of why welterweight has long been boxing’s glamour division. “He is a devastating puncher, has tremendous speed and he knows how to use it. He pleases the fans. He’s exciting. People want to watch him fight.

“Amir Khan is just beginning, he has a lot of fight left in him. He’s still learning and he’s still growing; he’s getting stronger and he’s getting faster. He’s more motivated than ever. If he keeps winning, if he keeps on getting into these big fights that are promised, I really do feel that Amir Khan can be one of the top fighters of all time. But first things first: Devon Alexander is a tough, tough opponent.”

Saturday’s headliner at the MGM Grand, Khan’s first at boxing’s headquarters, is notionally designated as an eliminator for Mayweather’s full WBC title – although he has not fought a mandatory challenger since Robert Guerrero in May 2013, and the single most powerful figure in boxing is unlikely to be dictated to without significant compensation in the final year of his career.

De La Hoya’s long-time partner Richard Schaefer left Golden Boy this year to work more closely with Mayweather, prompting fears that the company’s influence with the unbeaten WBC champion has been marginalised. Although involved in the promotion, De La Hoya was barely sighted during fight week when Mayweather fought Marcos Maidana in September, but he said: “We’re always happy to be working with and promoting Mayweather. We’ve done it for the last 10 fights.

“But, look, Amir Khan has been having eliminator after eliminator. The time for him is now. He deserves to be fighting Floyd Mayweather. He deserves to be fighting Manny Pacquiao.”

The easier fight to make would be against Khan’s former gym mate Pacquiao, who looked back to near his best defending the WBO version of the 10st 7lb title against Chris Algieri in Macau two weeks ago. An even easier option is a challenge for Kell Brook’s IBF belt. The Sheffield boxer is back in the gym after recovering from a knife attack in September, and wants to box again in March.

“I can see that type of fight happening at Wembley Stadium, for instance, in front of a hundred thousand people,” De La Hoya said. “That would possibly be plan B.

“It really rubs me the wrong way that Amir has been promised fighting the likes of Mayweather and Pacquiao and it hasn’t happened yet. He is at the perfect moment of his career. And one thing is for sure: 2015 is going to be his year. He is a force to be reckoned with, a threat to everyone in the welterweight division. I’ve always said if you put him up to the test, if you put him up against a Floyd Mayweather, a Manny Pacquiao, don’t be surprised if he wins.”

Which all sounds encouraging – except, as the former six-weight world champion acknowledges, Mayweather has let down Khan twice before, choosing each time to fight the slower, more predictable Maidana, whom Khan beat in 2010.

There is also the slim prospect of Pacquiao and Mayweather finally fighting each other, which would wreck all calculations. “I’ll believe it when I see it,” De La Hoya said. “I’ve heard it for about five years. It’s very complicated. First of all, you have one fighter [Pacquiao] with HBO and the other with Showtime. You have sponsors. But most importantly, you have egos and egos can get in the way of making big fights happen.”

This is also Khan’s last fight with Showtime – and marks his return to Sky after a spell on BoxNation – so he needs to win well against Alexander to demonstrate he is worth a shot at Mayweather, who has two fights left on his six-fight deal with the network.

Adam Smith, Sky’s executive producer of boxing, says: “It’s a vital fight for Amir and for British boxing, with both fighters desperate for the chance that could come their way in 2015.”