Mayweather-Pacquiao Undercard: Ranking the Best Potential Fights
If you're like most boxing fans, the reality may yet to have fully sunk in for you. After an absurd wait of a half decade, the two biggest boxing stars of this generation, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, have finally agreed to step into a ring together.
It almost seems a bit greedy to turn our attention now to the undercard, anxious for more Christmas-like goodies to unwrap. But the truth is, there will be more people tuning in to watch boxing on May 2 than there have been in years.
So it makes sense to capitalize on the sport's boom in status by offering some bouts that feature great matchups and/or rising stars. I'm not sure any of these fights are likely. But hope is free.
10. J'Leon Love vs. Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez
1 of 10
J'Leon Love has fought on the undercard for Floyd Mayweather's last two May pay-per-view events. He was knocked out in his last fight, this past August, so his stock is down. But as one of the top fighters on Mayweather's promotional roster, his number is likely to be called for this May 2.
I'm not crazy about that possibility, but I could muster some enthusiasm for him if he was matched up with Top Rank's best super middleweight prospect, Gilberto Sanchez.
Sanchez is 31-0 with 24 KOs, but he didn't look sensational in his win over Maxim Vlasov this past January. A quality performance for him against Love on pay-per-view would put him back on the fast track.
From Love's perspective, Sanchez is the kind of fighter he could look good against. And he needs to look good right now to overcome his recent KO loss.
9. Chris Algieri vs. Jessie Vargas
2 of 10
Chris Algieri's Rocky moment came to a sudden halt in Macau last November when Manny Pacquiao knocked him down six times and shut him out on the cards. Still, Algieri's eventful 2014 raised his profile in a big way, and Top Rank wouldn't be unreasonable to want to cash in on it some more.
Bob Arum has been attempting to build Jessie Vargas for a few years now. Vargas remains undefeated and would make an interesting matchup with Algieri.
This fight has the additional benefit of determining just how viable Vargas would truly be as a future opponent for Pacquiao. Although that might be a reason Arum would avoid making the fight, from a fan perspective, it's exactly what would make the fight compelling.
8. Andy Ruiz vs. Chris Arreola
3 of 10
The heavyweight division in 2015 is hotter than it has been in years. So there could be no better time than May 2 for Top Rank to push its own top heavyweight prospect into the spotlight.
Andy Ruiz is 24-0, with 17 KOs. The guy looks like he could be a contestant on Biggest Loser, but there's no questioning his boxing skills or power.
Chris Arreola would represent a huge step up in competition for Ruiz, but he's the kind of quality gatekeeper Ruiz is going to need to be able to beat if he's going to make it to the next level in the sport.
Arreola is himself no doubt anxious for a chance to come back from his disappointing knockout loss to Bermane Stiverne last year. He'd come in hungry, and this fight would almost certainly be a good one.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
7. Mickey Bey vs. Yuriorkis Gamboa
4 of 10
If I was going to bet on one fighter to make an appearance on the Mayweather-Pacquiao undercard, it would be Mickey Bey. After winning the IBF lightweight title from Miguel Vazquez on the Mayweather-Maidana undercard last September, he is the hottest fighter on Mayweather's promotional roster.
But if Bey is going to appear on this card, why not put him in a fight that could be a potential blockbuster? With Terence Crawford moving up to 140 pounds, the door is open for Bey to become the new big star at lightweight.
But it's going to take a win like the one Crawford collected over Gamboa last year to make that happen. As for Gamboa, this could be one final chance for him to live up to his huge potential.
6. Timothy Bradley vs. Brandon Rios
5 of 10
Brandon Rios blew through Mike Alvarado in just three rounds last January. So he should be more than ready to step back into the ring on May 2.
Timothy Bradley would be a great fight for determining how much of the performance against Alvarado was the result of Rios' legitimate improvement and how much was due to Alvarado's complete decline. Bradley would be a very tough technical matchup for Rios, but the rugged style of both fighters would create a very good fight.
Bradley is coming off from a split-decision draw against Diego Chaves. I thought he got robbed in that one, but I also think he didn't look his best.
He could use, and deserves, the chance for a big spotlight fight.
5. Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Brandon Rios
6 of 10
I would be very surprised to see this fight get made. I don't think 41-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez is likely to fight again if it's not for a chance to win a fifth world title in the welterweight division. So if he does fight again, I think it will be against Kell Brook, for the IBF title at 147.
But it would make a certain sense for Marquez to appear on this card. On the night of Mayweather and Pacquiao finally meeting, the other best fighter of their generation would have the opportunity for one last star turn of his own.
Stylistically, this has terrific potential. At his best, Marquez was levels better than Rios. But Rios is a rugged fighter in his prime and the larger man, so this fight would be a challenge for Marquez now.
At this point, Rios is an opponent who could give Marquez a last chance to remind everybody how great he is.
4. Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana
7 of 10
Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana put on one of the best fights of 2011. They've both improved as fighters since then and are both striving to stay at the top of the welterweight division. So a rematch has never made more sense than it does now.
For Khan, this fight would be a great opportunity to show whether he truly does belong in a fight with Floyd Mayweather. While Mayweather won his rematch against Maidana with relative ease, the rugged Argentine brawler pushed him to his limit in the first fight.
For Maidana, it would be another showcase opportunity. A win wouldn't get him in line for another shot at Mayweather, but it would keep him in place as one of the toughest division's most relevant fighters.
3. Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux
8 of 10
It is very likely that Vasyl Lomachenko will be featured on the Mayweather-Pacquiao undercard. With just three professional fights under his belt, the Ukrainian featherweight is already among the hottest fighters in the sport.
There's no doubt Top Rank is very interested in continuing to promote the former amateur standout heavily. From the perspective of serious boxing fans, there could be few better fights for him than super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux.
It would be a fight between the two best amateur boxers of the past several decades.
Unfortunately, this one is probably a pure pipe dream. Bob Arum did little but trash Rigondeaux, even when he was the Cuban star's promoter of record.
I doubt he'd let Rigo back on his biggest card in decades, with the opportunity to derail yet another of Top Rank's biggest stars, as he did with Nonito Donaire in 2013.
2. Timothy Bradley vs. Amir Khan
9 of 10
For sheer excitement, it might be better to match Amir Khan against Marcos Maidana or Timothy Bradley against Brandon Rios. But I think Bradley vs. Khan would have plenty of action. It would also have immediate relevance at the top of the welterweight division and even within the pound-for-pound top 10.
Bradley is still ranked in the pound-for-pound top 10 by The Ring Magazine, among other outlets. That's exactly the kind of status Amir Khan is hungry to grab for himself. So a fight for him against Bradley would have huge potential payoff.
For Bradley, it would be the chance to reassert his status as a top-shelf fighter after he struggled in his last outing in December, against Diego Chaves.
I think Bradley's physical and athletic style could create a compelling matchup with Khan's speed and pop. Each man presents the other with some difficult problems to solve.
1. Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Nicholas Walters
10 of 10
This fight has the potential to do the same thing for the undercard that Danny Garcia vs. Lucas Matthysse did for the Mayweather-Alvarez pay-per-view in September 2013. Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Nicholas Walters would be as highly anticipated by certain boxing fans as the main event itself.
Undefeated WBA featherweight champion Walters knocked out two future Hall of Famers last year, in Vic Darchinyan and Nonito Donaire. Lomachenko, who is probably the greatest amateur fighter of all time, collected the WBO world title at 126 pounds, in just his third professional fight.
I do think we're likely to get Lomachenko on the card, but unfortunately, not against Walters. As reported by Boxing News 24's Chris Williams on Monday, Top Rank is looking at matching Lomachenko against former WBA champion Simpiwe Vetyeka.
That could be a decent fight. Vetyeka was giving Nonito Donaire plenty of problems, when he lost by Round 5 technical decision.
Still, for a pay-per-view this big, it's hard not to hunger for the best available fight. And that would be a unification bout between Walters and Lomachenko.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
