Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s Most Logical Next Fight Is Amir Khan, Not Manny Pacquiao

Floyd Mayweather Jr. took care of business against Marcos Maidana on Saturday night, winning by unanimous decision in decisive fashion. Money displayed greater movement and footwork than his first fight against El Chino, avoiding serious damage and using his counter and jab to earn enough scoring strikes for the win.

Maidana was clearly frustrated throughout the match, as Mayweather continued to control the fight in the center of the ring, avoiding his challenger's attempts to pin him against the ropes and pummel him with a flurry of body shots.

A tweet from ESPN Stats & Info showed how Mayweather's movement and defense affected Maidana's output:

So, with his 47th victory in the books, and looking better than he did in May, the next question surrounding the pound-for-pound king is: Who will he fight next?

Boxing fans around the world have been clamoring for a superfight between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. During a post-fight interview, via FightNights.com, the champ alluded to the possibility of that scenario coming to fruition:

While that would appease the masses, it just isn't likely to happen. Mayweather has been dancing around the idea of fighting Pacquiao for quite some time now, and he was already setting his terms and conditions during an interview, via Jeff Powell of MailOnline:

"

We don't know what the future holds, as of right now. Anything is possible. If the Pacquiao fight does happen it has to happen on Showtime pay-per-view only and Mayweather Promotions have to do the fight. At the moment I want to go home, have a break, spend some time with my children and then see who's next in May. Hopefully it's Manny Pacquiao.

"

One fight that wouldn't require certain stipulations—and quite frankly makes more sense—would be against Amir Khan.

Khan is under the Golden Boy banner, making fight promotions quite simple. Mayweather spoke of a potential fight against Khan—and even began to trash talk his potential opponent—during an interview, via Jonny Singer of MailOnline:

"

Amir Khan is a solid, good competitor, he's a good fighter. We don't know who I'm fighting right now, we don't really know. I'm not rushing. If that fight happened to come my way then we'll make it happen. I felt good. I can't really say what age I felt, I felt like the winner...

...But Amir Khan's a good fighter, of course. I mean I think when Amir Khan was an amateur, I was champion. And then when Amir Khan turned pro and got knocked out, I was champion. Then when Amir Khan got knocked out again I was champion. And then when he lost his belt again I'm still champion and I'm still right here.

"

It certainly sounds as though Mayweather thinks of Khan as a big possibility for his next fight. According to Gareth A. Davies of The Telegraph, there's very good reason for that. Davies reported Khan was "on course" to fight Maywather on Saturday, but due to his observation of Ramadan, it was unable to happen.

After being knocked out by Danny Garcia back in 2012, Khan has been resurgent, defeating Carlos Molina, Julio Diaz and Luis Collazo in his next three fights. He's worked his way back up to contender status and is one of the most deserving welterweights to take on Mayweather.

Khan is a big enough name to headline a pay-per-view event, and some onlookers believe his speed and athleticism could potentially challenge the champion throughout the course of a fight. Khan would certainly be an underdog, but that statement could be made about any of Mayweather's potential upcoming opponents.

Sure, a Mayweather-versus-Pacquiao fight would be one for the ages. However, after putting everything into perspective, Khan is Money's most logical—and perhaps, most likely—next opponent.