The more I think about it, the more I feel like Floyd will be fighting for the Middleweight Championship of the World in the very near future. As I watched the final rounds of the boxing clinic that Sergio Martinez was giving Kelly Pavlik, I already found myself thinking about the possibility of Floyd and Sergio mixing it up. Not long after that fight, I received an email from a reader asking me a variety of questions and I ended my reply with, “Don’t be surprised if Floyd is the Middleweight Champion be year’s end.” Still though, there were a lot of hurdles that needed to be overcome before the potential match-up could stand of chance of taking place.
First and foremost, Floyd still had a May 1 date with Shane Mosley, a fight that many felt he could possibly lose. Not to mention, Kelly Pavlik still had the option to exercise his rematch clause against Martinez. Furthermore, Martinez created a lot of new options for himself with his victory, including his own potential rematches with Paul Williams or Antonio Margarito. Although all of the obstacles stood in the way, personally, I never doubted that any of them would be solved. Fast forward to today and we now know a few things are certain. One is that despite a momentary scare in the second round, Floyd easily schooled Shane. Another is that Kelly Pavlik has decided to forego a rematch with Martinez. After all, why exercise his rematch clause when he can instead move up in weight to face a more stationary opponent and just chalk the loss to Martinez up to being weight drained? The only other issue standing in the way would be the eagerness of Martinez to step in the ring with Mayweather when he now has other options. That being said, why would Martinez choose to fight a Williams or a Margarito next when he can instead make a career high payday against against the best boxer on the planet and possibly be the first to beat him?
With each passing day, it seems more and more likely that Manny Pacquiao will not take the Olympic-style testing that Floyd is demanding. Although that decision will leave only a few options for both fighters, it’s Floyd that has more of them and an opportunity to face Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez is likely the fight that would land the most money for “Money” and, at the same time, add to his legacy, making history by winning titles from Lightweight all the way up to Middleweight. The fight makes perfect sense for Floyd as it will be viewed as a risk, but a very calculated one as it is a very winnable fight, one that would garner plenty of attention and still afford him the opportunity to make the kind of money he’s grown accustomed to. It’s the perfect fight for Floyd. Sergio is not a big Middleweight, he doesn’t have one-punch KO power and, being a slick fighter himself, he’ll likely try to engage in a chess match with Floyd. As much as Mayweather says he doesn’t need belts, he still has an ego and capturing the Middleweight title would be another accomplishment on his stellar resume. Not to mention, time and time again, Mayweather has stated, “I only fight for the green belt,” and right now, Sergio Martinez is currently holding one green belt (WBC) that Mayweather has yet to get his hands on. So why not? Assuming the highly-anticipated clash between Mayweather and Pacquiao doesn’t take place, is there any better fight for Floyd other than a showdown with Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez? WHO R U PICKING for Floyd to fight next?
