Ranking the Most Likely Candidates to Be Floyd Mayweather's Next Opponent
Until he finally hangs up the gloves, fans will continue to ask: "Who is Floyd Mayweather going to fight next?" As 2014 winds down, this is as true as ever.
Amir Khan heads a list of potential Mayweather opponents scheduled to fight this coming weekend. Meanwhile, Manny Pacquiao has become more vocal than ever lately about his desire to finally make a superfight happen between himself and the pound-for-pound king.
Gennady Golovkin is the biggest rising star in the sport right now, and Mayweather has yet to capture a middleweight title. As GGG grows in popularity, demand will grow for that fight, as well.
10. Shawn Porter
1 of 10
Shawn Porter is a major dark horse in the Floyd Mayweather sweepstakes. He really can't be viewed as a serious candidate for Floyd Mayweather's next fight.
But he's still one of the best welterweights in the world not promoted by Bob Arum. So he deserves at least a brief mention here.
While Porter definitely deserved to lose his IBF title to Kell Brook last summer, I still view him as an exciting fighter who will be in the mix for the next several years. Still, if Brook was a bad matchup for Porter, Mayweather would be impossible right now.
9. Erislandy Lara
2 of 10
If I were the uncontested Czar of Boxing, Erislandy Lara would rank much higher on this list. I thought he beat Saul Alvarez, although I'm fine with judges who scored it the other way, considering Lara's long periods of inactivity.
Note, though, that I'm not fine with judge Levi Martinez scoring it nine rounds to three for Alvarez.
That loss aside, Lara represents one of the most difficult stylistic matchups available for Mayweather. Lara is a bigger man, with a longer reach. He's a southpaw and has the technical boxing skill to rival Mayweather.
I'd love to see this fight. However, I don't think that more casual fans, who criticized Lara's performance against Alvarez as "boring" in large numbers, would agree with me. And those are the people who drive pay-per-view sales.
8. Demetrius Andrade
3 of 10
Floyd Mayweather is lineal light middleweight champ, as well as the WBC and WBA belt-holder. Demetrius Andrade is the undefeated WBO champion. So this fight would make some sense.
Fans who would dismiss Mayweather for once more "cherry-picking" would also be a little bit out of line in this case. While Mayweather would be a huge step up for the 26-year-old Andrade, the younger man has an Olympic pedigree and would have a five-inch height advantage.
If Mayweather could completely ace a young lion like Andrade at this point in his career, I'd view it as an impressive achievement. Ultimately, though, Andrade probably doesn't have the name recognition at this point to justify a pay-per-view slot.
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7. Gennady Golovkin
4 of 10
Gennady Golovkin is one of the hottest rising stars in the sport of boxing. He's a wrecking machine with a disarming smile. He's a high-level technical boxer but relies almost exclusively upon his other-wordly power, because it's ultimately more efficient, as well as more entertaining for the fans.
Since Golovkin is an undefeated world champion at middleweight and Floyd Mayweather is the lineal light middleweight champion, this fight seems like a natural to many fans. As an event, it would do phenomenal numbers.
The legions of Mayweather haters would buy the fight in the hopes of seeing GGG smash the pound-for-pound king. Mayweather's loyal fans would buy it, to see if the champ could pull off his greatest magic trick yet.
But I just don't believe it will happen and don't really think that it should. Floyd Mayweather is a small guy, even by welterweight standards. Golovkin isn't a huge middleweight, but his power definitely transcends the weight class.
I've seen both of these guys in person, and the size difference is substantial. I don't blame Mayweather for wanting no part of this fight. And since he's on the brink of becoming a pay-per-view star in his own right, I'm not even sure GGG would want to drain down to 154 at this point.
I do think there is a good chance Mayweather will pursue a belt at middleweight. But it will be a rematch against the winner of Saul Alvarez and Miguel Cotto.
6. Devon Alexander
5 of 10
Devon Alexander is scheduled to fight Amir Khan this weekend. Khan has been a longtime candidate to face Floyd Mayweather, so if Alexander can beat the Brit, his name will at least enter the conversation.
Still, even with a win over Khan, Alexander won't have a particularly strong case. Even as a former two-division champion, Alexander is also the guy who lost to the guy who lost to the current IBF welterweight champion, Kell Brook.
So he's probably pretty far down the pecking order, regardless of what he does against Khan.
Still, a truly sensational performance might give Alexander unexpected momentum. It's certainly not something I'd predict. But stranger things have happened in boxing.
5. Keith Thurman
6 of 10
With a perfect 23-0 record and 21 KOs, Keith Thurman is perhaps the hottest young fighter in the welterweight division. He'll face fellow unbeaten, and European champion, Leonard Bundu this weekend.
As long as he wins against Bundu, Thurman will remain the WBA mandatory challenger for Floyd Mayweather. Still, regardless of what one particular alphabet-soup merchant has to say about the proper rankings, Thurman has yet to truly assemble a resume that warrants a shot at Mayweather.
And Bundu is not a win that would push him up to that level either. Thurman has looked great against some good fighters, but he hasn't yet faced anybody who was a top-10 talent.
Thurman is rising with a bullet. He's got an exciting, power-punching style and is a young lion who would provide a perfect foil to the aging Mayweather.
Still, unless Mayweather takes off the first part of 2015, it's hard to see Thurman in place to take the opponent role in time for Mayweather's next fight.
4. Kell Brook
7 of 10
Last summer, undefeated British welterweight Kell Brook pushed himself to near the top of the division when he beat Shawn Porter for the IBF title. It was a terrific performance that took many American fans by surprise.
As an undefeated belt-holder, Brook has to be viewed as one of the top contenders for Mayweather's next fight. He's also got the same advantage Amir Khan brings to the table. He would boost pay-per-view sales in England.
Unlike Khan, Brook has not been knocked out twice. On the other hand, he's still a relatively new face to the more casual fans, whereas Khan has been on the scene for years now.
3. Danny Garcia
8 of 10
Light welterweight champion Danny Garcia annoyed a lot of boxing fans this year when he fought unranked lightweight Rod Salka, rather than a true contender from his own division. It was the year's worst mismatch in a year stuffed full of them.
I can't help thinking that such a patsy fight had to have been a safety move, to make sure Garcia took no risk of losing while a much bigger deal was in the works. Garcia is managed by Al Haymon, perhaps the most well-connected person in the sport.
And what deal could be bigger than a pay-per-view meeting with Floyd Mayweather?
Some will object that Garcia hasn't even fought a single time at welterweight. It's a valid point, but Garcia is a special case.
He's the lineal champion at 140 pounds, where he recorded some major wins. He had a brilliant stoppage of Amir Khan, who has been a long-rumored opponent for Mayweather.
Mayweather is the lineal champ at welterweight and light middleweight. So this could be legitimately sold as a champion vs. champion affair.
I'm not saying that I find this fight very compelling. But given Mayweather's limited options at this point, this would be one of the more marketable choices.
2. Amir Khan
9 of 10
To the degree that I follow politics, I gather it's viewed as pretty much inevitable that the 2016 presidential election will be between Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton, regardless of the fact that very few voters in America have any real enthusiasm for either candidate. This situation strikes me as somewhat analogous to Amir Khan's likely status as Floyd Mayweather's next opponent.
It's not that anybody is really stoked over the thought of seeing Khan and Mayweather fight. But somebody has to get that coveted position, and just as is the case with Clinton and Bush, Khan's resume appears to make him qualified for the job, at least on paper.
With Khan's speed, he might actually be one of the tougher fights available for Mayweather. Or, he might at least manage to give Mayweather a couple of competitive rounds.
While Khan might be close to Mayweather in the speed department, he is light years behind the pound-for-pound king in boxing intelligence and defensive acumen.
Either way, first he's going to have to beat Devon Alexander this weekend. I think he will, but I hardly consider it a sure thing.
But if Khan does handle his business this weekend against Alexander, there is an outstanding chance he will face Floyd Mayweather next year on pay-per-view.
1. Manny Pacquiao
10 of 10
I've ranked Manny Pacquiao No. 1 here because this is the fight that everybody wants to see. This is the fight that everybody has wanted to see for about as long as Barack Obama has been the president.
In a logical world, this fight would happen. It's the only fight left that even makes sense for Floyd Mayweather's legacy at this point. Aside from avenging his knockout at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez, it's the only fight that makes any sense for Pacquiao.
But in a logical world, this fight would have happened sometime around 2011.
In my opinion, any chance for this fight happening went out the window when Pacquiao re-signed with Bob Arum and Top Rank last year. I just don't believe Mayweather and Arum will ever do business together.
But fans can continue to hope.
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