Floyd Mayweather's Top Options for Next Fight If He Ends Retirement
Even in the midst of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s announced retirement on the heels of his victory over Andre Berto in Saturday night's welterweight title bout in Las Vegas, the focus hasn't shifted away from Mayweather adding that round No. 50 to his record in the near future.
The pound-for-pound king has insisted ever since before his May fight with Manny Pacquiao that he'd step in the ring in September for the last time, and that tune hasn't changed even after Mayweather's win. After dispatching of Berto quite easily in a 12-round unanimous decision, he shared his thoughts on retirement with ESPN's Brian Campbell:
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
With that said, Mayweather has announced his retirement from the sport before. With a large sum of millions to add to his bank account and the prospect of inching past Rocky Marciano's 49-0 record with which he's now tied, it's not hard to envision a scenario for Mayweather's return to the ring.
One thing is certain—the best welterweights aren't going to back down from the idea of facing Mayweather in a potential 50th fight. With that in mind, let's take a look at three boxers who could get the call if the 38-year-old chooses to lace up the gloves again.
Winner of Miguel Cotto vs. Saul "Canelo" Alvarez
These two boxers are being bunched together only because they're getting ready for a massive encounter on November 21, and it's impossible to fathom the loser of that one having any real shot at Mayweather. But whoever should win, you can bet he'll call out the 49-0 champion.
Yes, both boxers have had their shot at Mayweather over the last couple of years and came up short. But it's not hard to say that those two fights are the toughest Mayweather has had over that time span.
The 34-year-old Cotto had Mayweather on his back foot during their bout, and in the middle rounds, it appeared he was winning the fight before he got gassed and opened the door for Mayweather. It's not surprising, then, that Cotto is eyeing another shot at Mayweather should he beat Alvarez, per Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News.
"We don't know exactly what Mayweather—he said before that he's going to retire after this fight (with Berto)," Cotto said. "I can't point to someone who's not going to be here later. But if he's going to stay after his fight, I think and I know that's a fight (between he and I) that people can watch."
Alvarez would pose quite the threat to Mayweather as well. Although outmatched in their first encounter, the 25-year-old has improved since then, most recently knocking out James Kirkland in the third round.
If Mayweather wants to stick it to those who say he avoids top competition, he can simply schedule the winner of Cotto vs. Alvarez and shut a lot of people up.
Shawn Porter
If Mayweather isn't sure about the laurels of Shawn Porter and wonders whether he even deserves a shot at him in a potential 50th fight, all he has to do is ask his buddy, Adrien Broner.
Porter handed Broner just the second loss of his career back in June, beating his opponent to a pulp in what was a unanimous-decision victory that could have been stopped much earlier. Although Porter is joining a long list of such contenders, his trainer handed out some stern words to Mayweather after that fight, per the Las Vegas Sun's Case Keefer.
"We’re going to do the battle for Las Vegas," Ken Porter, his trainer/father, said. "We live on the same street, right down the street from Floyd—about a mile-and-a-half. Don’t ignore us. Don’t act like the elephant’s not in the room."
It's easy to see why Porter is appearing so confident despite Mayweather's track record. The 27-year-old has lost just once in his career, and even that was a majority decision to Kell Brook that could have gone either way.
There may not be a boxer on the planet who can truly hang with Mayweather in his weight class, but Porter poses as big of a threat as anyone. If Money scheduled Porter, it certainly wouldn't be a bashful way to win No. 50.
Manny Pacquiao
We all saw what happened when Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao finally put the talking to rest and stepped into the ring for 12 rounds. The way that unfolded leaves a rematch awfully unlikely.
But it would take some serious ignorance to pretend like this wouldn't be the No. 1 motivator for Mayweather to get back in the ring one last time.
In case you were living under a rock all summer, Mayweather and Pacquiao carded what was likely the largest single-night payout in sports history. Mayweather pocketed as much as $180 million, while Pacquiao, even with the short end of the stick, raked in around $100 million, per the Associated Press via the New York Post.
Plus, there are the IV and shoulder controversies that have clouded perception of that fight. A report surfaced from boxing journalist Thomas Hauser (h/t ESN.com) that Mayweather received an illegal IV prior to the bout; additionally, Pacquiao was nursing a shoulder injury that required surgery after and limited his ability to fight his fight.
It may be too late to find out what would happen in a potential rematch, and it's a given that the two boxers will be even more past their primes than they were in May. But it's hard to envision Mayweather—or Pacquiao—passing up the chance at another nine-figure payday.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
