Mayweather vs. Canelo: What Victory Means for Money Going Forward

In the end, Saturday night's highly anticipated fight between Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. finished the way it was supposed to, as Money waltzed to victory in Las Vegas. 

The bout, which featured a pair of undefeated fighters, was a rather one-sided affair, as Mayweather eased past the Mexican challenger, bringing the undisputed pound-for-pound champion to 45-0. 

Money, obviously, was at a disadvantage, as far as power is concerned, against the previously 42-0-1 Canelo, but as Mayweather's shown time and time again, his defense, quickness and in-ring intellect are simply too much for any opponent to handle. 

No, for the fifth time in six bouts, Mayweather didn't deliver a knockout punch, but his ability to keep Canelo at bay, despite attempting less shots was clearly a staple of what was a classic Money performance. 

And now, with the 23-year-old now squarely in his rearview mirror, Mayweather's attention will now turn to bout No. 46, which is reportedly expected to take place sometime around May of 2014, via Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook.

But more importantly, the actual timing of his next fight is who Mayweather is who'll be the next contender to step into the ring against the undisputed best boxer of his generation. 

After such an impressive showing against Canelo, in which Money landed an absurd 232 of his 505 attempts, there's little reason to believe there's anyone out there who could really provide the 36-year-old with a challenge.  

Obviously, Mayweather's options for the first of his four remaining fights are somewhat limited, but as Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole pointed out, the fight immediately prior to the Money-Canelo bout may have produced his next challenger: 

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He's likely to meet Danny Garcia, who also was brilliant in a unanimous decision victory over Lucas Matthysse Saturday in their bout for the WBA/WBC super lightweight belt. 

Garcia blossomed into a star with his one-sided win, which he punctuated by knocking Matthysse down in the 11th. He didn't go so far as to call Mayweather out afterward though.

"I'm just a fighter," Garcia said. "I fight who they tell me."

He's planning to move to welterweight, and Mayweather's natural division now is welterweight, so that bout makes a lot of sense.

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But whether Garcia would actually be able to give Money a good run figures to be a long shot, and that's no slight against the Philadelphia native, who enjoyed an impressive evening of his own against Lucas Matthysse in Vegas. 

Instead, it's a tribute to how dominant Mayweather's been over his last few fights, because the days of us wondering whether Manny Pacquiao could take Money have long since passed. 

We know we'll see Money fight again, at least a few more times, but whether Canelo's attempt will end up as the closest anyone will come again to beating the undefeated champion before his career comes to an end remains to be seen. 

If Saturday night's showdown at the MGM Grand was any indication, Money won't so much as be pushed by another fighter.