Floyd Mayweather: Who'll Be Next To Get in the Ring With Pretty Boy?

Sixty days after a big win over Shane Mosley,  Mayweather told the Associated Press, “that he was in no rush to fight Pacquiao and was not really thinking about boxing at the moment.”

So that raised the question, who’s next for Money Mayweather?  The only safe bet here is that it will not be Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather really disappointed the boxing community when he would not budge on negations for a super fight with Manny Pacquiao.  Negotiations began in early May, and fizzled out around late July. 

Then, in a move that was even more puzzling, Mayweather went on a rant filled with profanity and racial slurs. 

Among other things, Mayweather said he would roll the Pac Man up “in a sushi roll and cooking up the m*****f***** with some cats and dogs. 

While there is obviously some bad blood here, this fight in all likelihood is still a ways off.  With that in mind, who makes the most sense to step up to Pretty Boy Floyd next?

While the odds of the Pacquiao-Mayweather dream fight being right on the horizon are pretty low, keep in mind that Mayweather has only fought twice since coming out of retirement in September 2009.

With an astonishing 92 wins and 13 world titles worn between the two fighters, these guys are quintessential opponents for one another.

Will Mayweather’s quickness be any match for Pacquiao blinding speed?  Will Pacquiao be able to withstand punishment from one of the greatest of all time for 12 rounds?

Despite the tremendous battle of skills that would be showcased here, agreeing on a split of the fight purse and the drug testing conditions before and after the fight do not look like they will happen anytime soon.

Nevertheless, this is a fight the fans are yearning to see, and could be a real possibility again if Pacquiao defeats Antonio Margarito on November 13.  

Clottey is at the bottom of the list for potential Mayweather opponents after he got lit up by Manny Pacquiao in March of this year. 

In his previous outing, he hung tough against Miguel Cotto after getting knocked down in the first round, making it close on the score cards and narrowly losing a split decision.

Getting beat up by Pacquiao should not still not make Clottey’s stock absolutely plummet though, as he has a great combination of size, stamina, and speed.

Additionally, it is hard to argue that his best asset as a boxer is his rock solid chin, yet to get knocked out in a 15-year professional career.

“The Grand Master’s” defensive style that relies on a lot of counter punching would likely need him to rely on knocking out Mayweather for the win, but there are still plenty of fighters that Mayweather would have an easier time with than Clottey.

It is hard to like Margarito’s chances against Mayweather.  He got embarrassed by Shane Mosley during his tampered hand wrap incident, and has yet to make a big impact on the boxing world since then.

He has only fought once since then, defeating the lesser known Roberto Garcia by unanimous decision in May of this year for the WBC International Light Middleweight Title.

Still, Margarito has beaten respectable fighters in Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey in the past few years, and his one punch knockout capability would draw an interesting parallel to Mayweather’s great stamina and speed. 

Even if Margarito where to get decimated by Pacquiao, he would remain a top welterweight since he is relatively young and has held four different titles within the division.

Marquez went the distance with Mayweather in 2009, and although he lost by unanimous decision, he is still not an upper echelon talent that is hard to beat.

Marquez has tremendous speed, and can do a lot of damage with counter punches as well. 

Evidence of that can further be seen when looking at how he fought Manny Pacquiao to a draw in 2005 and lost an unbelievably close match to “The Mexecutioner” in a 2008 rematch. 

This rematch is not that likely since Marquez just returned to lightweight in July, but if Mayweather was so inclined to face him again, Marquez does not seem like a guy who turns down a challenge.

Cotto is still a top tier boxer; it would be foolish to take him lightly just because he was knocked out by Manny Pacquiao in 2009. 

Do not forget that he hurt Pacquiao quite a bit with counter punches once he stopped trying to go shot for shot with him early in the fight.  Pacquiao was noticeably bruised up after their encounter.

In the past four years, Cotto has quality wins over Paul Malignaggi, Zab Judah, Shane Mosley and Joshua Clottey.

Cotto is an intelligent, tough fighter who rarely gets outclassed.  If he is the same patient fighter he was in the later rounds against Pacquiao, he could certainly give Money Mayweather a tough time.  

Williams is a former two-time WBO welterweight champion and is currently ranked as the No. 5 pound for pound boxer in the world by The Ring Magazine.

He beat Antonio Margarito back in 2007 by unanimous decision, and avenged his only loss to Carlos Quintana just four months after the fact. 

Furthermore, he owns other quality wins over the likes of Winky Wright, Sergio Martinez and Kermit Citron. 

“The Punisher” is an interesting matchup for Mayweather, as he is a southpaw that would have a significant reach advantage (10 inches) over Pretty Boy Floyd.

Williams is currently billed as “the most avoided fighter in the world," so Mayweather could also tarnish his reputation of ducking fighters by taking on the Punisher. 

Martinez has a chance to avenge his first loss in nine years when he takes on Paul Williams in Atlantic City, New Jersey on November 20th.    

Their first meeting in December of 2009 was nothing less than a classic, and fans are expecting nothing less this time around.

The winner of this fight has a great chance of being Mayweather's next in the ring adversary.  

Martinez's success is particularly impressive since he only started boxing at the age of 20, focusing on cycling and soccer prior to his boxing career.

While he is now 35, he showed the world he's still got it by beating Kelly Pavlik for the WBC and WBO Middleweight titles in April.  

Martinez has always been known for his tremendous quickness, and how he is consistently able to land hard, decisive punches.  

Long story short Martinez is a relentless fighter with a ton of heart, making him a great fit to give Mayweather a run for his, well, money.