Promoter: Floyd Mayweather Jr. said Amir Khan lacks ‘signature’ win

A “very disappointed” Amir Khan is now mulling his options after getting passed over by Floyd Mayweather Jr., who Monday chose Marcos Maidana as his May 3 opponent.

Khan promoter Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, which has assisted Mayweather in the promotion of all of his fights since 2007, said Mayweather (45-0) told Schaefer at the Lakers game Sunday night that Khan lacked “a signature” victory that would convince Mayweather to fight him.

“I explained to Amir that this doesn’t mean he’ll never get the fight,” Schaefer said. “Sometimes you go fishing and catch the big one.

“And sometimes you don’t. It doesn’t mean you won’t fish again. That fight is going to happen, I have no doubt.”

England’s Khan, a former world junior-welterweight champion who beat Maidana by decision
in the 2010 fight of the year, has lost two of his past four fights and was dropped by journeyman Julio Diaz before winning a decision in April.

Schaefer said Khan (28-3, 19 knockouts) is in the running to fight in late April to early May, either in Los Angeles or possibly even on the Mayweather-Maidana card, expected to be fought at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Schaefer said he’s trying to match a slew of welterweights against each other, including Khan, International Boxing Federation welterweight champion Shawn Porter (23-0, 14 KOs), Lamont Peterson, Luis Colazzo, Robert Guerrero, Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman, the 22-0 fighter who has a staggering 87% knockout percentage.

Khan originally backed out of a December date against then-IBF champion Devon Alexander to have a chance to fight Mayweather. Schaefer said he indeed told Khan he was in the running.

Yet, a week after Alexander lost, Maidana knocked down Broner twice in one of the year’s
most entertaining fights, a unanimous-decision victory that ultimately won Mayweather over.

“There’s no really no point in dwelling on who did this and who did that,” Schaefer said. “Amir
had to be OK giving up the opportunity of fighting Devon Alexander. He’s disappointed, but this is not the end.”

Schaefer cited the examples of Guerrero and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who had to lobby for an extended period before Mayweather agreed to fight them.

The promoter said Maidana “punched himself to the forefront … if Maidana had looked so-so,
who do you think Floyd would fight?”

Mayweather, Schaefer said, was originally attracted to Khan by his fighting style of fast hands and feet, which shined in his Maidana win and in the early rounds before he was knocked out by junior-welterweight champion Danny Garcia.

“Floyd respects Amir, thinks he’s a terrific fighter,” Schaefer said.

Schaefer said he wants to start assigning the welterweights against each other “quick.”

He said he likes the idea of Khan on the Mayweather card.

“He could be in Floyd’s face throughout and make a big statement,” Schaefer said.

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimespugmire