Mayweather vs Guerrero: Result Won't Impact Desired Bout with Manny Pacquiao

For the past few years most boxing fans have called for a fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. It's difficult to say if it will ever come to fruition, but the result of Mayweather's tilt with Robert Guerrero on Saturday won't impact it one way or the other.

Outsiders continue to talk about Mayweather vs. Pacquiao; however, Mayweather must remain focused on Guerrero. Although Mayweather is a heavy favorite against "The Ghost," he can't afford to take him lightly. Guerrero is 31-1-1 and he has enough tools in his arsenal to give Mayweather a difficult time.

A big part of Mayweather's popularity and marketability is his 43-0 record, so he has to worry about preserving that above all else. Regardless of whether Mayweather wins or loses against Guerrero, though, it won't make a potential bout with Pac-Man any more or less likely.

There is definitely still a desire to see Mayweather fight Pacquiao within the boxing community, but since Pacquiao has lost his past two fights to Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez respectively, he has definitely lost some steam. There used to be plenty of discussion about who was better between Mayweather and Pacquiao and who was the bigger draw, but Pacquiao's recent struggles have silenced that debate.

It also means that Mayweather is essentially in the driver's seat when it comes to deciding whether or not he wants to face Pacquiao. Pac-Man is damaged goods to some degree, so he needs a fight against Mayweather to redeem himself more than Mayweather needs a fight against him. Also, after signing a huge six-fight deal with Showtime, there isn't much incentive for Mayweather to take an unnecessary risk.

If Mayweather beats Guerrero he will simply move on to the next one whether, it's Pacquiao or someone else. Mayweather's undefeated record isn't really a necessity anymore when it comes to a fight against Pacquiao since he is widely considered to be better than Pac-Man at this point. Because of that, beating Guerrero means little in terms of Pacquiao.

Should Guerrero upset Mayweather, then "Money's" next fight is already in place. According to ESPN Boxing, Mayweather has an automatic rematch clause in his contract, so a loss to Guerrero would result in another fight between them. That pushes a possible Pacquiao fight even further down the road, but it doesn't necessarily help or hurt it.

"

Floyd Mayweather Jr. puts in rematch clause against Robert Guerrero es.pn/ZAWP2J

— ESPN Boxing (@ESPNBoxing) May 2, 2013"

There has been so much back-and-forth conversation regarding Mayweather vs. Pacquiao over the past few years that it's difficult to say what is true and what is simply misinformation. Whether it has to do with an inability to agree on the winner's purse or Mayweather's belief that Pacquiao has used performance-enhancing drugs, the fact of the matter is that Mayweather and Pacquiao have found ways to delay the fight constantly.

Unless Mayweather shockingly retires after the Guerrero fight, a potential bout with Pacquiao will still be a possibility, but it will be very far from reality. Pacquiao's past two fights probably affected a fight against Mayweather more than anything. Had Pacquiao beaten Bradley and Marquez there would be a lot more pressure to make the fight happen.

Pressure has subsided to some degree, though, because there is naturally a perception that Pacquiao is washed up. That assertion is debatable as Pacquiao's loss to Bradley was controversial to say the least. He lost outright to Marquez, but he had been dodging that bullet for his entire career, so it was bound to catch up with him at some point.

Mayweather seems to have the upper hand in any future negotiations now due to his undefeated record. It's unlikely that Saturday's result will sway him one way or the other, so Mayweather vs. Pacquiao will continue to be a huge question mark moving forward.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter