Floyd Mayweather Should Focus on Securing Manny Pacquiao Superfight Next

Floyd Mayweather's unanimous-decision win over Marcos Maidana on Saturday probably failed to convince Showtime executives from a sales perspective. At this point in his career, Money should focus on Manny Pacquiao and the fight that will determine his legacy.

According to BoxRec News' Michael Nashed, Saturday's bout failed to sell out and became the latest in a series of Mayweather fights that failed to bring in 1 million pay-per-view buys.

In fact, with the exception of Money's highly anticipated fight against Canelo Alvarez, the pound-for-pound king has yet to hit the mark since joining the network in 2012.

The likes of Maidana and Robert Guerrero simply don't excite the crowds as much as Showtime would have hoped, and one name keeps popping up—eternal rival Pacquiao. Nashed explains:

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The Mayweather/Pacquiao saga has reached a crescendo of embarrassment with both men clearly out of options. Saturday night’s contest, reportedly, failed to sell out and Manny is slated to face unheralded Chris Algieri in November.

It remains to be seen whether the network to which Mayweather is contracted for two more fights, Showtime, can exert the necessary influence in this situation. Now, four fights into a 200 million USD contract with boxing’s biggest star, Showtime executives are likely growing impatient with lacklustre pay-per-view sales of Mayweather fights against Robert Guerrero and Marcos Maidana.

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Welterweight may have surpassed heavyweight as boxing's most exciting division, but after years of avoiding each other, fans appear to have grown tired of watching Pac-Man and Money fight anyone but each other.

That's not to say the duo isn't popular—they're still massive PPV draws and two of the most lucrative athletes in the world. But now, nearing the end of their respective careers, their legacies appear to finally be suffering from the fact that they never faced each other.

People immediately speculated regarded Floyd's next fight in May, with Amir Khan at Wembley Stadium being quoted as the likeliest bout.

Matchroom Boxing's Eddie Hearn doesn't see it happening, however:

As reported by ESPN.com's Dan Rafael, Money's plan is to have two more fights—one in May 2015 and one later in the year, likely September. With Khan a possibility—though perhaps not a probability—who else is there left to fight for him?

Keith Thurman? Danny Garcia? Another rematch? Any of these options wouldn't convince the Showtime executives, knowing full well the fans don't want to watch that fight. They want Pacquiao.

The scenario is almost too good to be true. The two greatest boxers of the past decade, a feud that goes back years and it all comes down to one final superfight. Never mind the fact both are no longer in their prime—fans will pay whatever they must to catch the bout that would be billed as the fight of the century.

Isaac Brekken/Associated Press

More importantly, it would remove the one gaping void on Floyd's resume—that career-defining win. Being undefeated is Money's legacy, and it's a phenomenal achievement he should be proud of.

But he can do even better.

If he can make it past Pac-Man—and that's still a big if—his career could realistically be viewed as complete. He'd have the undefeated record, the bags and bags of cash, and that one shining win over one of the greatest fighters the world has ever seen.

Nashed wonders where both parties will go next:

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When he next sets foot in a boxing ring, Floyd Mayweather will be 38 years of age, and still with many legacy questions unanswered. He lacks a career-defining fight among his 47 victories. It will certainly be interesting to follow the negotiation for Floyd’s May fight, and particularly from the angle of which opponent(s) are approved by Showtime after the poor sales seen to date. Does Floyd have his price? Will the network reach its breaking point? We will soon find out.

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Forget about Khan. Forget about the month of May, if he has to. Showtime wants to cash in, and a bout with Pacquiao would achieve just that, breaking every PPV record out there.

If money was the one thing keeping Floyd's current arrangement with the network from making the fight happen, the latest reports suggest the situation might not be as rosy.

This fight simply needs to go down for the sake of both fighters' legacies. Fans aren't waiting for Mayweather to beat up on another former opponent or one of Golden Boy's youngsters who are still a step or two below prime time.

Floyd's focus right now should be Pacquiao, and Pacquiao only. While the superfight still seems like it will never go down, it's the only logical next step as Money nears the end of his career.

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