Floyd Mayweather has two options.
Much to the dismay of most boxing fans, Manny Pacquiao—who was never really a realistic opponent for Money to begin with, and now really isn't one after being knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez—isn't one.
Neither is Marquez, who has already lost to Mayweather, albeit that was before the biggest victory of his career.
Neither is undefeated Timothy Bradley.
Instead, Mayweather's choice will come down to Canelo Alvarez and Robert Guerrero, and according to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, we will soon hear a decision regarding Alvarez:
Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer told SI he hopes to have an announcement on @floydmayweather /Canelo/ @ghostboxing fights first week in Jan.
— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixSI) December 18, 2012
While neither boxer is yet a household name, both are up-and-comers who would provide intriguing matchups with the undefeated Mayweather.
Let's take a closer look at each.
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez
I mentioned that neither boxer is a household name but Alvarez is just about as close as it gets, and that's his main appeal.
At just 22 years of age, the impressive 41-0-1 Mexican looks like the future of boxing.
Granted, for being so highly regarded and so close to a megafight with Mayweather, his resume isn't overly impressive, although the domination of Shane Mosley (an old Shane Mosley, however) and Josesito Lopez in his last two fights has Alvarez's stock way up.
Still, while Canelo is certainly climbing the ranks, many don't believe he is worthy of a shot with Mayweather. At least not yet.
But then again, the youngster is also one of the biggest draws in the sport, and this serves as potentially the biggest non-Mayweather-Pacquiao fight out there.
Robert Guerrero
Guerrero certainly isn't as big of a name as Alvarez, but many believe the 29-year-old is more deserving of a shot with Money.
At 31-1-1, the American is the current WBC interim welterweight champion and has recently dominated Andre Berto, Selcuk Aydin and Michael Katsidis in very impressive fashion.
Throw in wins over Vincente Escobedo and Joel Casamayor, and Guerrero's resume is a lot more inspiring than Alvarez's.
However, unless you're a hardcore boxing fan, you probably don't really know who Guerrero is while Canelo is quickly becoming a worldwide name. The American would be far less of a draw for Mayweather.
Luckily for both boxers hoping for a shot at glory, it sounds as though Mayweather will have two openings in 2013.
Follow @t_keen
Read more Boxing news on BleacherReport.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment