Almost every day, another story comes out about who Manny Pacquiao is going to fight next, while almost nothing is written regarding possible opponents for Floyd Mayweather Jr.
It seems as though everyone within 20 pounds of the pound-for-pound king of the ring wants a piece of him whether they deserve a shot or not.
There are some fights that will obviously never happen, like an Andre Ward-Floyd Mayweather Jr. matchup.
I am sure there will be people calling for this fight, and some diehard Mayweather haters will say he is scared, etc., but fighting a man who is arguably the No. 2 fighter in the world and is naturally much bigger than you is just plain stupid. If we know one thing about Mayweather, it’s that he’s not stupid when it comes to choosing an opponent.
Some have said Andre Berto should be next for Floyd.
I personally believe Berto-Mayweather would be a fun match to watch while it lasted, but ultimately, Mayweather would be too much for him and would probably score a late-round knockout. This fight will probably never happen, as Berto has reportedly signed with TMT, Mayweather and partner 50 Cent’s promotional company.
Robert Guerrero has been making a lot of noise, calling out both Mayweather and Adrien Broner, who campaigns two weight classes below him.
This sounds to me like Guerrero is just looking for a payday and is trying to stay relevant, if he ever was relevant, in the minds of the boxing public. I think this is a fight that could get made rather easily, as Mayweather has a great working relationship with Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Guerrero.
The biggest problem with a Guerrero-Mayweather matchup is I don’t think anyone outside of San Jose, Calif., would want to watch it.
Another problem is how one-sided of a fight it would be. Guerrero, while he is a good fighter in the lower weight classes, is not a true welterweight and lacks the firepower to give Mayweather anything to worry about.
Next up is Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the current WBC junior middleweight champion.
I think this is a fight that could be a huge success, as long as Alvarez does what he is supposed to do in his next fight against the highly overmatched Josesito Lopez.
An Alvarez-Mayweather fight would be a great matchup from a sales point of view, but I don’t know how competitive it would be at this point. Although Alvarez is a 40-fight veteran, he still may be a little too green to fight Mayweather yet.
I also doubt that Golden Boy Promotions will be willing to match their biggest cash cow with Mayweather just yet.
There is always a rematch with Miguel Cotto, but I don’t think it’s necessary considering how one-sided their first fight was.
Manny Pacquiao is the fight that fans, the media and everyone have been demanding for years, but to be honest, I feel Manny has slipped in his last couple of fights. At this point, I think Pacquiao is easy work for Mayweather and would probably get knocked out. Also, I don't think Bob Arum will allow this fight to happen just yet.
I think the fighter that Mayweather should go after is Sergio Martinez.
If Martinez is victorious in his match with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. this weekend, and that’s a big if, I believe a fight with Mayweather is the best fight available for both guys.
This would undoubtedly be the toughest fight of Mayweather’s career, but a win over the lineal middleweight champion Martinez would be the crowning achievement to Mayweather’s Hall of Fame career.
Some Mayweather fans will say that going up in weight to fight Martinez isn’t necessary, but let’s face it—Mayweather is the Barry Bonds of boxing.
He is criticized far more then any other fighter due to his out-of-the-ring antics, his choice of opponents over the years and his “safety first” mentality in the ring. I think that, win or lose, by taking on a fighter like Martinez, he will silence a lot of his critics.
I don’t really know how a fight would turn out between Mayweather and Martinez, but I do know that I would be on the edge of my seat throughout. It’s a fight I want to see.
Read more Boxing news on BleacherReport.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment