Floyd Mayweather, love him or hate him, is the highest ranked boxer on the planet. While people lament his choice in opposition, it seems one more person can be moved from the list of those who pose a legitimate threat to dethrone his indisputable spot at the top.
Manny Pacquiao's loss to Timothy Bradley and subsequent vicious knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez has derailed interest in that matchup. Austin Trout's loss to Canelo Alvarez has relegated him from the lucrative Mayweather sweepstakes. Now, Sergio Martinez has also been dismissed him as a potential king slayer.
Sergio barely got past Martin Murray, whom he handpicked, in front of his native Argentine crowd. Yes, he won a unanimous decision 115-112 on all three cards, but the fight exposed the much-supported middleweight champion as unworthy to battle for world supremacy. He was knocked down again and eliminated himself as a potential opponent for Floyd Mayweather. Many believed he could have been a real challenge to the sport's pound-for-pound king.
Martinez is very athletic and has a unique style that has afforded him great success. However, he did not look worthy of competing against the world's highest paid athlete; he gave a pedestrian performance against an ordinary fighter. In Sergio's previous fight against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., he had to withstand a late barrage that saw him badly hurt in the 12th round. He escaped with his belt but lost some mystique that needed to be reinvented in order to warrant hype for a Mayweather showdown.
Martin's talent is a few galaxies apart from that of "Money May," and Murray was only a point behind on two official cards after 8 rounds; he made the fight very competitive. The logic follows that Martinez, who struggles against mid-tier opponents, could not give Floyd a fight worth believing in to be competitive. Floyd has a habit of not facing legitimate threats, and it seems the list to challenge him has become leaner still. The three leading candidates to usurp the king are: Canelo Alvarez, Timothy Bradley and Gennady Golovkin.
In his win over Trout, Canelo showed that he needs to improve his activity and balance. He was often reaching with his punches and left off-balance as a result. Overall, his output was less than that of Trout, and in order to beat the champ, he will have to have better cardio to allow him to be much busier. Mayweather's patented "hard work and dedication" mantra gives him an advantage in conditioning that Canelo has not shown he is ready for, yet. The Mexican's defense was improved, his power was devestating and his quickness appeared to be ready for Mayweather.
Timothy Bradley showed his defense is porous in his last bout—another dubious decision win—against Ruslan Provodnikov. He was also seen to have lost his fight prior to that against Manny Pacquiao. His heart cannot be questioned, but out-of-this-world talent is required to defeat one of the greatest pugilists of all time in Floyd Mayweather.
Golovkin would have to drop to 154 or less to get his chance at the prestigious opportunity to best the leader of "The Money Team". The only question mark with the Olympic gold medalist is his experience against top-tier champions. The undefeated middleweight champion has never faced a top pound-for-pounder, and the world's No. 1 is a big leap to start.
Sergio has an exciting rematch option with Chavez Jr. and a unification bout with Golovkin. However, the 38-year-old should no longer be considered an option for Mayweather. Floyd, who is fighting on May 4, needs to fight the best lest his legacy be tarnished. Hopefully, the 36-year-old will fight the three aforementioned fighters sooner than later. The list is quickly getting smaller by the month.
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