Danny Garcia vs. Lucas Matthysse: Best Next Opponents for Both Fighters

After a thrilling fight on Saturday night, Danny "Swift" Garcia clearly established himself as one of the five best fighters in the world. Because he's undefeated, 25 years old and has already unified two parts of the junior welterweight title, Garcia deserves a shot at Floyd "Money" Mayweather next.

Garcia could face the winner of the Devon Alexander-Amir Khan battle, but that would be a lateral move at best for him. He's 27-0 overall, and he's defeated five former world champions. With every win, Garcia's resume gets more impressive.

Not only has he proved himself to be worthy of a shot based on his in-ring ability, but Garcia's father, Angel Garcia, also ensures the fight hype will be at least interesting. While Garcia is a no-nonsense, humble fighter, his father is abrasive, loud and a great personality for the sport.

Imagine what Showtime's All Access would be like with Mayweather's and Garcia's camps being placed under the microscope. It may end up being the most epic version of the pre-fight hype show we've ever seen. Mayweather-Garcia is the fight that should happen; hopefully it is the one the boxing world will get.

As for Lucas Matthysse, the options are somewhat wide open. Although he lost, he's still a very dangerous fighter for any 140- or 147-pound fighter. He wasn't exposed as overrated as much as Garcia's brilliance became all the more apparent.

Garcia earned the win, but the swelling that occurred in the seventh round was a key factor in the way the second half of the fight transpired. Matthysse had just had a solid sixth round, but the loss of vision was too much for "The Machine" to overcome.

In Matthysse's next bout, he'd be better off fighting someone who is more of a slugger than a boxer. Garcia's skill level and chin were the difference. He simply used angles and fundamentals to get the better of Matthysse. Battling the winner of the Brandon Rios-Manny Pacquiao bout or the winner of Ruslan Provodnikov-Mike Alvarado would make for an exciting and more winnable tilt for Matthysse.

The boxing world could have an epic slugfest on their hands if Matthysse met any of those four men. Even though he was dropped and on the wrong end of a clear unanimous decision, Matthysse's stock is still high.

With a couple of exciting wins, Matthysse will be right back in the title picture at 140 or 147 pounds.

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