Khan to fight Algieri in May

Amir Khan is set to fight former light-welterweight champion Chris Algieri on May 30.

The British boxer, who made the announcement on Thursday, has been under pressure to take on another Briton, Kell Brook, the IBF welterweight champion, in June.

But Khan, a former Olympic silver medallist who was also linked with bouts against Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman, said he was already deep in negotiations to fight somebody else.

He announced on his wife's YouTube channel: "The next opponent will be Chris Algieri. I will be taking that fight at 147lb (66.68kg, the welterweight limit)."

The non-title fight has yet to be rubber-stamped, but Khan added: "I'm looking forward to getting this fight announced officially by my manager and advisor Al Haymon."

Algieri's only defeat in his 21-fight professional career came in his most recent bout, against Filipino Manny Pacquiao, who faces Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas on May 2.

Khan believes the American is a credible opponent as he won the WBO light-welterweight title from Ruslan Provodnikov in June 2014; albeit on a highly controversial split decision.

"You can class him as an A-class opponent," Khan said. "He has fought decent opponents, beaten decent opponents, and just fell short against Manny Pacquiao."

The 28-year-old Briton hopes to fight in Algieri's home city of New York. In Khan's only previous bout there he stopped Paulie Malignaggi in the 11th round at Madison Square Garden in May 2010.

This time, though, Khan wants the non-title bout at the Barclays Centre. "We're looking at fighting in New York. I think New York's a great venue for me."

Khan has made no secret of his desire to chase lucrative showdowns against Mayweather or Pacquiao and is confident a win over Algieri can lead him to that.