Credit: Chris Farina - Top Rank
No Pacquiao-Mayweather? How About These 4 Potential Opponents
It appears that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is not planning to go on another year and a half long hiatus from the world of boxing, as his team has publicly stated that they are planning to fight on May 5th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It has been widely reported that they are “looking to make the biggest fight possible.”
One week ago, it would have been natural to assume that a showdown with Manny Pacquiao was imminent, but in light of the turn of events in last Saturday’s bout between Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, one could surmise that Pacquiao and Marquez may still have unfinished business due to yet another controversial decision victory for Pacquiao. The decision has bumped Floyd up to number one on the ProBoxing-Fans.com pound for pound list and has prompted talks of a possible Pacquiao Marquez IV fight. With all of that said, I would like to take a look at 4 of the best potential opponents for Mayweather in 2012.
Tim Bradley (27-0)
The Junior Welterweight title holder is coming off of a one-sided victory over long time contender Joel Casamayor last Saturday night in an undercard bout of Pacquiao Marquez III. Though the fight with Casamayor was lacking in great boxing action, Bradley is in the mix of elite welterweights and has defended the Junior Welterweight title 6 times. Bradley had already previously been assumed to be on the shortlist of Pacquiao’s next opponents since he just signed with Top Rank, but once again, Pacquiao now may be tied up with another Marquez fight. One negative for Bradley may be his lack of name recognition outside of a relatively small circle of boxing enthusiasts.
Andre Berto (28-1)
Coming off of a victory over Jan Zaveck in September in what served as a “rebound” fight after his loss to Victor Ortiz last April, Berto has publicly stated that he is focused on making the biggest fights possible in 2012. Berto has vacated the IBF Welterweight title that he gained in the victory over Zaveck in hopes to avenge his loss to Victor Ortiz in 2012. It seems that Berto vs. Ortiz II is likely to be next in line, but in the boxing world nothing is ever set in stone. Berto does have a bigger name than that of Bradley and could spark a small buzz for the fight world if a fight versus Mayweather was ever put on the table.
Amir Khan (26-1)
Amir Khan will fight mandatory IBF title challenger, Lamont Peterson on Dec. 10th on HBO. If Khan is victorious over the very skilled Peterson, a big time fight against a big name would be a natural move for him. Khan is trained by the formidable Freddie Roach and often trains and spars with Pacquiao himself. Khan is no doubt among the elite in boxing today and is expected to move up from 140 lbs after the bout against Peterson. It has been reported that Khan has already been talking up a fight against Mayweather in 2012 if he is given some time to go up in weight. To me, Khan would be the best available opponent for Mayweather if the Pacquiao fight does not happen.
Sergio Martinez (48-2-2)
Sergio Martinez is widely regarded as one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world. Martinez is an exceptionally skilled middleweight with seemingly ever-improving punching power. The middleweight division has seemed to have run out of big name opponents for Martinez, so it seems only logical that he might have to drop down to a catchweight in order to have a mega fight with one of the smaller superstars of boxing. Right now, a fight pitting Martinez and Mayweather together doesn’t seem to be on the table, but there is no doubt that boxing fans the world over would be elated to see a matchup as epic as this one would be. Further, Martinez and his promoter, Lou DiBella, have stated they would be willing to move down in order to land a Mayweather fight.
