Floyd Mayweather
Boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr greets fans and amateur boxers during a visit to conduct training clinics in Soweto Reuters

Marcos Maidana might have lost to rival Amir Khan in the Money Team Production's Poll, but not the vote of Roger Mayweather, one of the most important persons in Floyd Mayweather's circle, his uncle and former chief trainer.

Roger Mayweather, also known as the Black Mamba, said his nephew will eventually pick the Argentine slugger over Khan for his Cinco de Mayo showcase on May 3 at MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"I think it was going to be Amir Khan, but they say Maidana," Roger said to Ellie Seckbach News Reporting. Who "they" is still unclear.

In an attempt to generate hype for his next fight, Mayweather announced the names of Khan and Maidana as his top contenders to let the fans decide his next foe via online voting on his Web site.

Maidana led the early phase of the voting, but Khan posted a series of campaign in Twitter to vote for him. Khan's effort eventually paid off. But Maidana got higher votes in four other polls, putting a shade of doubt on Money May's survey.

The elder Mayweather believed Khan might have the hand-speed, but thought it was not enough for him to have a solid shot in beating Mayweather. Roger stressed there are so many fighters with exceptional speed in both hands and feet during the amateur days, but finished their career with no championship belts.

Khan emerged as the top contender for Mayweather right after the pound-for-pound king defeated Saul Canelo Alvarez in September. Many boxing pundits criticized him for not being a worthy contender against boxing's top fighter, pointing out his vulnerable chin and lack of power as the drawback for potential lucrative showdown with Money May.

Boxing 24 Writer Chris Williams predicted Khan will have a rough career if he ever fails to land the Mayweather fighter, a scenario which could put him against up-and-coming welterweight sluggers, Keith Thurman and Devon Alexander.

"This is going to be a huge blow to Khan's career if he doesn't get the Mayweather fight, because then he'll have to finally get back in the ring and face one of Golden Boy Promotions fighters like Keith Thurman or Devon Alexander in order to get his career moving once again. Khan has been out of the ring since last April, just waiting on the word that he's been picked out for the Mayweather fight," Williams said.