By Michael Byrne: Having been strung along and eventually snubbed by Floyd Mayweather Jr, Khan is now trying to make up for lost time by landing a fight with the biggest available name in the division. The only name Khan has specifically mentioned as an option is Adrien Broner, saying ‘Broner would be a great fight’ in a Sky Sports interview.

Other possible options seem to be Shawn Porter, who claimed the IBF title by taking the Alexander fight when Khan didn’t; Keith Thurman, WBA interim champion who is also in search of a big fight now that Maidana will be fighting Floyd; and, of course, Kell Brook, who Khan has reportedly been offered £5 million to fight. Lesser options include Alexander, who no longer has anything to offer Khan; Malignaggi, who Khan has already dominated and would pose no threat in a rematch; Robert Guerrero, who no-one really cares about; Leonard Bundu, who although unknown in America, recently made himself known to UK fight fans by coming over and Lee Purdy; and Luis Collazo, who has just reminded everyone that he is still alive and dangerous by destroying Victor Ortiz, but remains a high-risk, low-reward fighter.

Broner has recently tweeted about the possibility of fighting on Mayweather’s undercard, and has affirmed that he wants to stay in the mix at 147. Porter has broken onto the scene with an upset over Alexander, now holds the belt that Khan was set to fight for, and will doubtless be looking for another name on his record to cement his name in a talent-packed division. Thurman is always looking for the biggest name can get because he is a real fighter who wants to make a name for himself by knocking out big names. Brook has been calling Khan out for as long as anyone can remember.

Of these four names, from Khan’s perspective the best option may well be Broner. Broner is a big, international name who will do anything to hype up a fight. He also doesn’t happen to look comfortable at 147. His power is no longer special (although it is still decent), and Khan should be able to overwhelm him with lightning fast combinations. The risk that Broner poses is that if he catches Khan with a big shot on Khan’s way in, then Khan could be in trouble. However, looking at the other options, Porter and Thurman are both undefeated: no one knows quite how good they are yet. Porter looked very slick and well-balanced as he out-boxed Alexander, and Thurman has powered through everyone put in front of him. Khan should avoid Thurman’s power at this point in time.

Porter has never knocked out a decent fighter, which is promising for Khan, but the downside would be Porter’s small fanbase resulting in a low-income fight. That leaves Brook, and the borderline absurd amount of money promoter Eddie Hearn is trying to throw at Khan. Five million pounds. For a non-title, domestic clash this is an alarming amount of cash. Brook really wants to get in there with Khan. However, Khan sees himself as an American fighter, and this fight wouldn’t do as much for his career across the Atlantic as would the Broner fight. It’s also higher risk. Although Brook struggled badly after getting caught against Carson Jones, there is no mistake that he is a dangerous fight for anyone at 147. He is a good technical boxer, he is strong, and has very good power.

So, it would seem Broner is the safest fight out there for Khan right now. There would be decent money in it, although obviously not as much as Eddie Hearn is offering. There would be a big stage, probably becoming the Mayweather-Maidana co-feature. He would be one step behind Maidana, and if he could rack up one more a win against another decent name, (maybe Porter or Collazo if they, in turn, get another decent win), he could finally get himself that ‘destined’ fight (or ‘payday’, as most people are calling it) with Floyd. And then we would never have to hear from him again.