Floyd Mayweather Jr. and 3 Boxers Who Must Stay Undefeated to Keep Drawing Power

It's no question that these three boxers have those who watch them just to see their skills being on display inside the ring, but the majority of their drawing power comes from something more—them being undefeated.

After Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s knockout victory over Victor Ortiz on Saturday, a lot of fans were heard saying "i'm never buying another boxing PPV again." A lot of them felt robbed by the former pound-for-pound king for what many considered a cheap shot KO.

So why do people keep buying Mayweather's fights on PPV if, no matter what, they will always be unsatisfied?

The answer is they want to see him lose.

It hasn't happened yet, but what if it does? Would anyone really buy one of his fights if he had a "1" on the other side of his record? It's doubtful.

These are three boxers whose drawing power comes from them being undefeated. A loss could be crucial for their careers, and it's something they must avoid at all costs if they want to keep their "star" status.

No. 3: Andre Ward

WBA super world middleweight champion Andre Ward (24-0, 13 KO) is one of the top-10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world, but his fights haven't exactly been that thrilling to watch.

It's easy to predict the outcome of many of his bouts where he is the favorite going into them. In his past three bouts versus Arthur Abraham, Saki Bika and Allan Green, five of the nine scorecards read 120-108. The other four read 118-110.

Boxing fans like unexpected surprises, and a fight with Ward doesn't exactly give them that.

If Ward isn't defending his undefeated record, his style won't be enough to attract a large enough boxing audience to put him on a PPV, even if he is a title holder.

His next bout will be against another super middleweight champion in Carl Froch, which will be for the Super Six Super Middleweight Grand Prix championship. In the toughest fight of his career, it will give him one last chance to really leave his mark as one of boxing's future stars.

No. 2: Timothy Bradley

WBC and WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley is 27-0 with 11 knockouts. Eight of his last nine bouts have all gone the distance, and none of them have produced a finish unless you count the one where his head ended the fight.

Aside from having pretty lackluster performances against some of boxing's best up-and-comers, Bradley doesn't offer the "it" factor like other future superstars like Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, who is 21 and undefeated at 38-0-1.

Bradley is 28 and recently declined an offer to fight No. 1 ranked junior welterweight Amir Khan. Khan isn't undefeated but he still attracts a lot of attention to his fights for his style and showmanship in the ring. Bradley doesn't exactly have the same type of drawing power, but his undefeated record keeps him at the top of division and in the light of many boxing's contenders for a fight with Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr.

If he wants a shot at either of those two, he better keep the right side of his record clean.

No. 1: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Even though Mayweather knocked out his most recent opponent, many fans still felt robbed. Some felt they didn't get the fight they were expecting from the 24-year-old while others wanted to see Mayweather's skills in action for the better part of 12 rounds.

The fourth-round KO didn't live up to the hype, but it did extend Floyd's record to 42-0. No matter who he fights, he must do everything to keep it that way. Not many casual fans will want to watch him on PPV if he isn't undefeated.

His mouth might be enough to draw a large PPV audience, but what will he say if he isn't undefeated? The majority of his trash-talk and the pre-fight build up is focused around nobody having the answer. Once someone does have the answer, people will move on and look for another problem to solve.