Floyd Mayweather Must Face Top-Notch Opponents to Close out Career

Floyd Mayweather, a man fueled by ego and showmanship, must find an opponent equally worthy of the in-ring spotlight.

His rematch against Marcos Maidana last Saturday night proved much of the same. Mayweather improved his record to 47-0 with his fifth consecutive victory via decision. It was the quintessential Mayweather match: He defended, picked his moments and stayed upright until the judges deemed him victorious.

LaceupBoxing provided the CompuBox fight stats for the one-sided affair:

Now the dreaded game of picking his next opponent returns. If the 37-year-old is to be believed, this process will only occur two more times. Before defeating Maidana, he told ESPN.com's Dan Rafael that he plans to retire when his Showtime contract expires next September.

"I only got two more fights left (after Saturday) and after the next two fights I just want to build the Mayweather Promotions brand," Mayweather said.

Chances are eager onlookers will cloud their heads with dream opponents, only to get greeted with a vessel "Money" can exploit to maintain his undefeated record.

The formula keeps working for the welterweight and middleweight title holder. According to Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole, his last fight generated 925,000 pay-per-view buys, exceeding their first meeting's buyrate.

He collected the public's cash with one night of work last weekend. Per SportsCenter's Twitter account, he made more in 60 seconds than most adults will make in six years.

Yet how many more of these fights will consumers tolerate before they grow bored of the same shtick? Sports are driven by uncertainty and the notion that anything can happen at any moment of any event to lift all viewers into a frenzy.

A Mayweather fight just consists of him blocking every punch and rarely engaging with his own offense before wrapping up the fight after a few rounds. Following months of build-up, the decision is usually clear after 10 minutes.

Bettors have certainly lost curiosity, since there's no fun in putting anything down on a heavy favorite. Jay Rood, MGM's president of race and sportsbooks, told ESPN.com's David Purdum that activity was stagnant for his fight against Maidana.

"He's a draw, but it's not translating to the betting window," Rood said.

Not enough people appear willing to turn away on moral grounds, but what about a lack of interest once everyone realizes they're watching the same story on repeat?

There's an obvious choice to avoid such fatigue. It's, of course, Manny Pacquiao. 

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Has anyone ever discussed a potential Mayweather-Pacquiao fight yet? Boxing fans have clamored for the two titans to clash for years now, but nothing has ever materialized. It's the obvious answer to critics questioning Mayweather's path to 47-0, and many prospective viewers will mail out a blank check to watch it.

Pacquiao is the biggest marquee name by a wide margin, but another suitable adversary exists in Amir Khan, whose British descent would serve as a bridge for them taking the action to London's Wembley Stadium.

Shifting the typical Vegas locale would add a wrinkle to the event, and Khan would function as the underdog and home-town favorite. That will at least create a narrative of an obstacle for Mayweather to overcome, even though it doesn't matter unless the audience is allowed to directly participate in the ring.

In terms of quality, Khan might generate a better show than Pac-Man. Boxer Paulie Malignaggi told ESPN UK that Khan is a more suitable opponent at this stage of their respective career:

"

A really intelligent boxing fan would understand that people like Amir Khan are more dangerous to Floyd Mayweather than Manny Pacquiao at this level, at this point.

For the mainstream sports fans that don't really understand boxing the way they should then the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight will always be the dream fight that never happened so if it can happen then it will generate a ton of interest, a ton of worldwide audience. 

But I actually think it's a pretty easy fight for Floyd Mayweather to win and I think Khan would pose a big risk to the prefect record of Floyd Mayweather.

"

Mayweather has faced the young, hungry opponent before in Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, but the Mexican's aggressiveness spelled disaster against the careful veteran. Khan is more built to play Mayweather's battle of attrition.

Either way, Mayweather must choose someone whose name the customer can remember when discussing the upcoming Mayweather fight.

Floyd Mayweather Must Face Top-Notch Opponents to Close out Career