Floyd Mayweather: Who He Should Fight If the Pacquiao Fight Can't Be Made

If Manny Pacquiao wins what should be a very tough challenge from Timothy Bradley on June 9th, we'll assuredly be hearing that negotiations have started again between Pacquiao and Mayweather, followed by a report a couple of weeks later saying negotiations have stalled. 

Well, at this point I'm pretty skeptical that a fight with Mayweather and Pacquiao will ever come to fruition. So, the question is, who is the one fighter out there that fans should want Mayweather to fight next? 

The answer? Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez. The current World Middleweight Champion. 

For starters, this fight could be made relatively easily. Martinez wouldn't ask for more than 20% of the revenue, which Floyd would readily accept. Martinez has "only" made a couple of million dollars at most per fight, so the prospect of earning a cool 10 million to fight Mayweather would be just fine with him.

Martinez also said he'd fight at 150 pounds, but Floyd would likely only make him come down to 154, where Martinez is very comfortable and has fought numerous times before. Floyd seems to hate catch weights, and 154 would be fair for all parties involved.  

This fight would also draw a lot of interest from the public. It's the only fight besides the Pacquiao fight that pre-fight predictions would be about 50/50. I wouldn't be shocked if the odds were about even or if Martinez ended up being a slight favorite. 

There is also an element to this fight that is enticing to Floyd. He's always complained about not being given full credit for his victories from the public. 

If he were to fight Martinez at the full Middleweight limit of 160 pounds, and beat Martinez while probably weighing only 151 or 152, he'd have a right to begin to include himself in the conversation with Ray Leonard and Ray Robinson.

And with that 80/20 split, he'd probably make almost as much as he would if he were to fight Manny Pacquiao.

So, if the Pacquiao fight doesn't happen, or Pacquiao loses in his fight with Tim Bradley, let's hope that he can fight Sergio Martinez, either at 154 which is fair, or 160 which would truly be an amazing feat for Floyd and would elevate him in my mind as much as if he were to beat Pacquiao.

Either one of these two fights would be excellent and great for the sport.

Hopefully one of them happens, but as we've seen, when it comes to "Money" Mayweather you just never know.

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