Listen Now:
By: Sergio L. Martinez
Floyd Mayweather, Jr. – the man who refers to himself as “Money” – is on target for a May bout but the opponent has yet to be decided. This May fight would mark Money’s return to the “squared circle” in one year since he last fought and defeated Puerto Rican legend Miguel Cotto prior to serving time in county lockup for beating a woman. Since his release, Mayweather’s next move has been anticipated by most of the boxing world at large.
Many continued to hold on to the possibility that Money would finally sign on the dotted line and agree to fight Filipino sensation Manny Pacquiao. A devastating right-hand by Juan Manuel Marquez which left Pac-Man lying face first on the canvas made that fight just a tad less important.
Of course, there are those crazed Pac-Fans that actually believe that Manny allowed for his brain to be disconnected from his body and “faked” the whole thing to get “Scareweather” to grow a pair and agree to the fight.
However, there are three other fights that Money could partake in which would add to his legend and please fans in the process.
Mayweather, Jr.-Robert “Ghost” Guerrero:
Despite the fact that Mayweather recently denied that the Guerrero fight is a done deal, the prospect of it remains intriguing. Guerrero is a crafty southpaw that seems to have entered his physical prime and is fighting as well as ever. The “Ghost” has also shown really power at 147-pounds, can box, is willing to brawl and has solid defensive skills to go with his offensive attributes.
Add in the fact that Guerrero has become a media sensation due to the family dynamic involved with the Guerrero’s and a fight with “Money” is easily billed as a good versus evil affair. Considering the current version of Guerrero and the version of Mayweather Jr. that showed up against Miguel Cotto and the actual fight has great potential to be a solid contest with the “Ghost” as a very live underdog. At the present time, Guerrero-“Money” is a great fight at 147-pounds.
Mayweather, Jr.-Austin “No Doubt” Trout:
The common denominator between these two is obviously Miguel Cotto and everyone witnessed how each fighter did their business against the Puerto Rican star. Whether he meant to or not, Money lay on the ropes against Cotto and did pay a price as he got raked with hard shots throughout the duration of the contest.
Cotto landed consistently against the usually elusive technician which led to questions about Mayweather’s legs at this stage in his career. Still, Money withstood the onslaught and responded with solid combinations. He clearly defeated Cotto but was not his usual self. On the other hand, Trout used great boxing skills, stood in the pocket and basically battered Miguel over the duration of their contest. The New Mexico native really showed the boxing world that he is ready for the world level. With his size, skills and boxing aptitude, Trout presents a real threat to Floyd’s undefeated record.
Mayweather, Jr.-Saul “Canelo” Alvarez:
It must be said that Alvarez completely represents the unknown factor which is what makes this fight interesting. Young, strong, fast, capable and undefeated certainly make him appear to be a world-class fighter but the truth is Alvarez has yet to face a true upper echelon fighter in his prime, as his resume is littered with has-beens and never were types.
Although he has handled these fighters exactly the way he was supposed to, the young Mexican star is really more hype as of this moment and his true substance is still a mystery. Now, because of his natural talent and flashes of greatness, Alvarez is still a young cat who cannot be ignored.
Add in the fact that he is an enormous cash cow and a money fight against “Money” makes even more sense. It is hard to predict what this fight would look like because all we have to judge “Canelo” on is potential, but most of boxing still wants to see it. The spectacle itself would be monumental if nothing else.
There will be those who will say that both of the aforementioned fighters are true 154-pound pugs which would put Mayweather at a disadvantage. The thing is that “Money” and his yes-men insist that he is best fighter of all time. Most of the current fighters that top that mythical list, outside of heavyweights, got there not only by cleaning out their divisions and facing the top guys of their era but also by challenging themselves and taking on the best from other weight divisions. “Money” has fought at 154 before so it is not a stretch for him.
Now, should Floyd, Jr. really want to obtain the ultimate respect, then a fight with Sergio Martinez at 160-pounds would be the ultimate challenge and a win would definitely take Mayweather from legend to instant immortality. Do not expect that fight ever to materialize as he would not agree to fight a former blown-up flyweight in Pacquiao. The fear of facing a blown-up junior middleweight like Martinez, whom is a pound-for-pound fighter himself, just seems completely impossible.
