No official announcements have been regarding Floyd Mayweather’s next fight just yet, although the signs are pointing to a match with Andre Berto. It’s being billed as his last fight, and it is the last bout of his six-fight deal with Showtime. That said, it’s highly unlikely he passes on the opportunity to reach 50-0, potentially winning a middleweight title in the process.
As we wait to hear about Mayweather’s opponent and future though, there has been plenty of speculation on the undercard of the September 12th event he’ll headline.
A few matches have been proposed and rumored. One is a super middleweight title fight between Badou Jack and George Groves. Jack is coming off an upset decision victory over Anthony Dirrell, and is just a few fights removed from a shocking first round knockout defeat. Groves, who would likely be favored in the match despite being the challenger, has won twice since his back-to-back defeats to the now retired Carl Froch.
We currently have Groves rated #5, and Jack #6 at 168 lbs.
The second proposed fight would be a super featherweight rematch between Roman Martinez and Orlando Salido. The two met in a thrilling affair this April, with “Rocky” having his arm raised with a title winning unanimous decision victory. We currently have Martinez at #5 and Salido at #6 at 130 lbs.
The third match which has been floated is a junior middleweight fight between Vanes Martirosyan and Ishe Smith. If this fight happens, they’ll need Martinez-Salido II to wake everybody back up. Nevertheless, an intriguing meeting of contenders, with Martirosyan slotted at #5 and Smith at #9 at 154 lbs.
As said though, all just rumors and speculation for now. Stay tuned for more updates and developments in the days and weeks to come.
