Floyd Mayweather Must Impress in First Fight Since 2012

Floyd "Money" Mayweather better be money in the ring when he faces Robert Guerrero.

It's Mayweather's first fight in almost a year. On May 5, 2012, he beat Miguel Cotto in a unanimous decision. Less than a month later, he was sent to jail for domestic battery. Mayweather was released in August and promoters set about getting him a new opponent.

Even with the time out of the ring, Mayweather will be the heavy favorite. Simply winning the fight isn't enough. Money Mayweather must show fans that he hasn't lost a step. He needs to dominate Guerrero. He needs to toy with his opponent, dancing around the ring and hitting big punches at critical junctures.

There aren't nearly as many marquee names as you saw in the sport 10 or 20 years ago. Mayweather is one of the few transcendent fighters of his era, and his name has a cache that goes beyond the sport. Ask even the most casual sports fan to name five boxers and they'll all include Mayweather in their answers.

If Mayweather is pushed to the brink or even beaten by Guerrero, he is watching dollar signs go down the drain. Having his unbeatable facade torn asunder by a fighter like Guerrero would hurt.

Against Miguel Cotto, Mayweather didn't look his best. He even admitted as much (h/t Martin Domin of the Daily Mail). Now that he's at his more natural fighting weight, Mayweather should have no problem with Guerrero.

No matter what you think of him as a person, there's no denying Mayweather is a fantastic promoter. He builds himself up as the pantomime villain. Fans can put up with it as long as he is one of the best fighters in the world. When he falls from that level, however, people will start to grow tired of his cocky nature. He will stop being a guy who backs up swagger and become a loudmouth fighter who can't back up his trash talk anymore.

Mayweather is one of the least humble athletes in the world. When he does hit his decline, no one is going to feel sorry for him. His critics are only going to revel in Mayweather's reversal of fortunes.

He posts his $100,000 bets on Twitter for the world to see:

Someone like Manny Pacquiao is a much more sympathetic fighter, and even he isn't the kind of draw that he was before being knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez.

That descent would be even more rapid with Mayweather.

Speaking of Pac-Man, the chances of a Mayweather-Pacquiao superfight ever happening are becoming slim. While it could still happen, many fans won't want to see two fighters who are on the decline.

Mayweather needs to start his comeback as strong as possible. The financial outlook of his career and boxing as a whole depends on it.