Former WBA welterweight titlist Adrien Broner, 25, from Cincinnati, Ohio and and ex-IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter, 27, from Akron, will face each other in the ring in a 12-round non-title fight that could lead to the winner landing a lucrative fight with Mayweather.
The possibility surfaced when former Mayweather foe Juan Manuel Marquez complained that his knee injury has not completely healed after a year of continued therapy.
Marquez, who Mayweather reportedly considered for his next fight, has been inactive for over a year since his unanimous decision win against Mike Alvarado last year.
In his reaction to the reported Mayhweather offer, Marquez said he is open to the possibility of facing Mayweather in a rematch provided that certain conditions are in place.
“If the fight is proposed and the conditions are acceptable, then of course [I would do it]. But we all know how things are done when fighting Mayweather in Las Vegas. In that city the officials protect him, let him do everything. Fighting him is a burden,” Marquez said.
The other name in the Mayweather shortlist is England’s Amir Khan, who is still in contention because of his plan to shorten his training to accommodate the Mayweather fight.
Earlier Khan said he isn’t free on Sept. 12, the date Mayweather wants the fight to take place because of his observation of the holy month of Ramadan.
“I’m not ruling out fighting in September because it’s possible that it could happen,” Khan said
“Mayweather only fights in mid-September and Ramadan will be a little earlier this year, which helps. It gives me enough time to get the training done. So it can happen in September.”
The other possible contender is Kell Brooks of UK, who is unbeaten in his pro career. But Mayweather has yet to react to his offer.
The winner of the Broner-Porter match would allow Mayweather to choose from at least three possible candidates that would now include Amir Khan, Kell Brook and the winner of the Broner-Porter fight next Saturday.
Latest on the Broner-Porter fight, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) has appointed Tony Weeks as the referee with Adalaide Byrd, Eric Cheek and Dave Moretti as judges.
