Floyd Mayweather has two remaining fights on his six-fight deal with Showtime and PPV numbers have been anything but stellar.
In the four fights since signing with Showtime, Mayweather has outpointed Robert Guerrero, Canelo Alvarez and Marcos Maidana twice. The Alvarez fight was easily the biggest of the four and among the biggest fights that could be made for Mayweather. Despite Floyd?s utter dominance of Canelo, it was still great to see him step up to take on a bigger, stronger and younger opponent, who still has his whole career ahead of him.
However, as 2015 rolls around, Floyd Mayweather?s options for opponents is starting to get quite slim. Obviously the big fight everyone still wants to see, is the mega-fight between he and Manny Pacquiao. Numerous reports say that there have been some talk between the camps, but for the most part, there is still too much posturing going on. There hasn?t been any real headway in negotiations and although Pacquiao continues to say he?s ready to fight, take drug tests, etc., Mayweather seemingly has one demand after another.
So let?s for a second assume that Mayweather-Pacquiao just never gets made. Who else is left out there for Mayweather?
Khan looked impressive against Alexander
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Well for starters, there is Amir Khan, who was among the front-runners last year to get a fight with Floyd, though ultimately couldn?t land the fight. Khan fought Julio Diaz, looked terrible and didn?t fight again in 2013. Fortunately for him, he rebounded nicely in 2014, dominating Luis Collazo and then looking excellent in a lopsided win over Devon Alexander earlier this month. In his win over Alexander, Khan looked exceptionally quick, moved well, showed off some nice power and finally looked like a deserving challenger. Obviously there is still the question about his chin, but Mayweather doesn?t exactly go in there looking for knockouts anymore, which could work to Khan?s advantage. As far as pure boxing skills are concerned, Khan has plenty and may be the only fighter out there that can match (or get close to) Floyd in the handspeed department.
Miguel Cotto?s name has also been thrown around in regards to a rematch of their excellent 2012 fight. Mayweather got hit a lot in that fight, and although the scorecards were still pretty wide in his favor, he had to work hard to win that fight. There will be plenty of fans who say ?been there, done that? and surely it?s a fight we?ve already seen. Still, the thought of seeing Mayweather go up to middleweight to challenge for the title would be very intriguing, especially with a Cotto who would be even bigger this time around, and with Freddie Roach in his corner. Cotto however, has a potential clash with Canelo Alvarez on the horizon if the two camps can come to an agreement, and it would be huge, so Mayweather may not have Cotto available as an option unless that middleweight bout falls through.
Photo: Chris Farina / Top Rank
So if it?s not Khan or Cotto (or Pacquiao), then what?
Danny Garcia just doesn?t seem ready for that fight, and some are asking for Keith Thurman. But while the hardcore boxing fan might dig one of those two, will either sell tickets or PPVs for that matter? The short answer, no. Floyd?s PPV numbers have been going south (as have Pacquiao?s for that matter), and it?s going to take an opponent with a big name and a fanbase to build up interest again. Fans are starting to speak out with their wallets, which is the ultimate weapon. Mayweather needs to give fans fights they want to see and the one they?ve been clamoring for is Manny Pacquiao. Unless Mayweather has a legitimate opponent across the ring from him in his first fight in 2015, you can bank on fans? interest fading quicker.
