Mayweather is running scared of Khan, claims middleweight legend Hagler



Middleweight legend Marvin Hagler has questioned whether Floyd Mayweather is 'afraid' of fighting Amir Khan as uncertainty persists over a possible bout between the American great and Bolton's former world champion.



Khan revealed this week that Mayweather has promised him a fight, having initially snubbed him in February in order to face Marcos Maidana on May 3. That setback came after months of negotiations between Khan and Mayweather, in which most details had seemingly been agreed, and infuriated Khan, who beat Maidana in 2010.



Mayweather's decision to fight Maidana has bemused Hagler, who on Tuesday was discussing Mayweather's wider legacy in the continued absence of a career-defining fight against Manny Pacquiao.



No thanks: Marvin Hagler has suggested that Floyd Mayweather Jnr is afraid of fighting Amir Khan

Firm: Hagler was speaking in Kuala Lumpur ahead of the Laureus World Sports Awards this week

What's changed then, Floyd? Khan revealed that Mayweather has now promised him a fight

Hagler is perfectly placed to comment on the subject of legacies having ensured his place among boxing's greats by fighting the best of his generation in a gruelling series of captivating bouts in the Eighties.



His fights with Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard contributed to a sparkling decade for the middleweight division, but the 59-year-old, speaking in Kuala Lumpur ahead of the Laureus World Sports Awards, fears Mayweather's own place in the elitist ranks of the sport's history is in some doubt.



He said: 'I think Mayweather in a couple more fights might even retire because there is no one else out there.



'Pacquiao would have been an excellent fight but I think that has gone out the window because it won't have the interest it had (after Pacquiao lost to Timothy Bradley – controversially - and Juan Manuel Marquez in two of his last three fights). That might have been the biggest fight in boxing history. Maybe they would have pulled in $100 million.



Fight gone: Mayweather would now struggle to arrange a bout with Manny Pacquiao worth around $100m

Like old times: Mayweather will fight Marcos Maidana on May 3 - a boxer he's already beaten once before

Problems: Khan had been in discussions with Mayweather for months over a fight it didn't materialise

'He (Mayweather) is at the right time because there isn't really anyone else out there. He can make all this money and probably walk away from the game.



'We have seen what has happened with that (Khan). Even this guy Maidana that Khan beat (in 2010) who he has given this fight next, this is all crazy stuff.'



Hagler added: 'I believe the best way is to fight the top and the way my career led me was fighting the best so this way you feel good about yourself when you have finished because you know you did not duck anyone. You gave everyone an opportunity.



'With Mayweather we have got to see if he retires and he hasn't given Pacquiao a shot or given Khan a shot. There will be a conversation that maybe he was afraid of them.'



Hagler now fears a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather will never happen. He said: 'Now it is all over. Plus the fact that Pacquiao got knocked out. We don't know if he really has it anymore.



'In the beginning, I had it as an even fight. I didn't see Mayweather walking away with it. I think it was going to be a tough fight.'