Amir Khan insists he will not let thoughts of a potential blockbuster fight with Floyd Mayweather distract him from the job in hand.
Brit has Mayweather in his sights
Amir Khan insists he will not let thoughts of a potential blockbuster fight with Floyd Mayweather distract him ahead of his upcoming contest against Lamont Peterson.
Khan will defend his WBA and IBF light-welterweight titles against American Peterson at the Washington Convention Center on December 10.
The Bolton fighter admits Mayweather is his number one target, with next summer being pencilled in as the date that the two could meet, most likely in the United States.
But the 24-year-old is also keen not to let the thought of a potential multi-million pound blockbuster distract him from his last fight at light-welterweight.
"I have ambitions and one of them is to fight Floyd Mayweather and beat him, but I have got Lamont Peterson to beat first," Khan said.
"I know I have to focus on this one fight because one mistake can change your life and I don't want that to happen.
"Before I never trained that hard. I was only looking at the big names and the big fights but you have to remember there are fighters you have to take on first before you get those big fights and I just didn't take it seriously then.
"I can't make that mistake again. This time I will be 100% serious."
Khan will begin training for the fight with coach Freddie Roach in the Wild Card gym alongside Manny Pacquiao on Monday.
With a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight seeming more unlikely than ever, Khan has the undefeated welterweight champion in his sights.
Big fight
"After Lamont I will move up to fight at 147lbs (welterweight). I will have one more fight at 147 and then fight Floyd. This time next year could be the big fight for me," Khan added.
The Briton successfully defended his titles against Zab Judah in his last fight in Las Vegas and his bout against Peterson will be his third in the States.
Promoters Golden Boy hope the 12,000-capacity arena will sell out, while Khan's camp are confident that more than 4,000 Britons will cross the Atlantic for the fight.
With Peterson being from Washington, Khan will be braced for a hostile atmosphere - but the Olympic silver medalist thinks the trip will be worth it to boost his image Stateside.
"I don't want to fight just in England or Vegas. I want to fight all over the world. I want to be a global star," Khan said.
"Cracking America is very important to me really because I have always said I want to be a global star and to do that you have to win good and win with style."
