Manny Pacquiao: After Mosley, Who's Next in Line for the Pound-for-Pound King?

Since seven out of 10 people are saying Manny Pacquiao will get past Shane Mosley on May 7, as is shown in the continuing betting odds (seven-to-one in recent updates and polls, in Pacquiao's favor), who will the pound-for-pound king face in his second fight of the year?

Of course, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is first on the list. However, due to a number of intricate situations that the undefeated boxer is facing at this time, which may come in the way of their long overdue fight, Team Pacquiao should start considering other possibilities. The second fight of the year is normally scheduled for early November.

It seems that Pacquiao is running out of quality opponents, since many of those who are calling him are not really on his level at this time.

Some of them are overrated, others are past their prime, while many aren't nearly marketable enough and are riding on Pacquiao's popularity.

One of the overrated boxers who is salivating over the thought of having a crack at Manny Pacquiao is Tim Bradley, who figured in "The Super Fight" recently with Devon Alexander.

Bradley's fight with Alexander was not at all impressive and yet Bradley immediately called on Pacquiao for a seemingly lucrative fight after his unimpressive victory over Alexander.

Popular boxing columnist King J said in his article, "Alexander/Bradley was not a 'super fight.' In fact, it was barely even a fight at all, with both fighters never really dominating the other or really taking any big chances. It was an ugly, boring fight where there were a lot of clinches, headbutts and complaints to the referee.

"Neither Alexander nor Bradley looked impressive or even like a champion who could satisfy HBO's ongoing void for the next American boxing star," King J wrote.

"These types of ugly/boring fights drive away the fight fans and kill off any future fans of the sport," he added.

Another boxer who is relentlessly calling on Manny Pacquiao is the very popular Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico, who the pound-for-pound king knocked down at least four times during their last two fights.

Marquez claims he won both fights but the judges said otherwise. Now he's chasing Pacquiao for a trilogy.

However, it seems more like Marquez is just looking for a huge payday before retiring for good. He knows he can't pick up that kind of money with anyone other than in a date with Pacquiao.

Andre Berto is another neophyte who's gunning for his first million dollar fight purse at the expense of Pacquiao.

Although undefeated in his pro boxing career, Berto is hard to promote since he needs more time to build his name in the big leagues.

If Berto makes it past Victor Ortiz on April 16, it would be much easier for Bob Arum to sell him to Pacquiao—but he has to win convincingly against Ortiz before he gets Arum's attention.

Then there's Sergio Martinez, waiting down the line. The problem here is that Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach has said that the Filipino boxer will no longer fight at over 147 pounds.

If Martinez refuses to go down, therefore, the fight will not happen.

Roach, who vowed to keep Pacquiao fighting at the welterweight limit, has said that he really wanted Floyd Mayweather Jr.

However, as everyone knows, the guy seems to be nothing but problematic at this time.

"I was asked about what I thought was the most attractive fight out there, and I said [Floyd] Mayweather, and the second was Martinez—if he can make 147," he said.

Aside from the four guys mentioned here, no one in the welterweight limit seems to be deserving of the opportunity to face Pacquiao for his second fight this year.

Yet the questions remains—who will Pacquiao fight next?

From the above, Floyd Mayweather Jr. would obviously still be on top of the list. However, since his hands are tied, Sergio Martinez will naturally come next in line, followed by Marquez and then Berto. Tim Bradley needs more time to prepare.

A Pacquiao-Martinez fight seems to be the answer to the question on Pacquiao's first post-Mosley fight. It will be the richest fight this year next to any potential Pacquaio vs. Mayweather fight.

That being said, the final question is will Sergio Martinez go down to 147 to land a lucrative fight with the Fighter of the Decade?