Floyd Mayweather News: After Manny Pacquiao, Is Floyd Picking A Weak Next Opponent?
Fans who were hoping to see Floyd Mayweather follow up his win over Manny Pacquiao with another fight against a high-profile opponent might be sadly disappointed. The undefeated boxer, who is set to conclude his contract with Showtime, and possibly his career, in September, has proposed two underwhelming potential opponents for his next bout.
“Either Karim Mayfield or Andre Berto, that’s who Floyd Mayweather will be facing in September,” Mayweather said via Fighthype. “I mean, every fighter, you know. One of those guys could upset Floyd Mayweather, you never know. It’s the Mayweather sweepstakes: Who’s gonna hit the lottery? It all depends on how I feel.”
Since Mayweather’s unanimous decision over Pacquiao in the most profitable pay-per-view of all time, much bigger names than Mayfield or Berto have been speculated as potential challengers to the champ. According to Mayweather, he won’t face Amir Khan, Miguel Cotto, Shawn Porter or even Keith Thurman.
Khan appeared to be the favorite to face Mayweather, who has flirted with the idea of fighting Khan for two years. But it looks like the Brit will never get his chance to take on the world’s top fighter.
While he might not be as accomplished as some of Mayweather’s past opponents, Khan has established himself as an elite welterweights. His recent win over Chris Algieri, though not as impressive as he might have hoped, gave Khan five straight victories.
When ESPN’s Dan Rafael pressed Mayweather on whom his next opponent might be, Mayweather reminded him that Pacquiao fought Algieri in November. Algieri was unknown to many casual boxing fans before the bout, and was knocked down six times by the Filipino star in a one-sided decision.
Algieri was undefeated at the time, coming off a big win against Ruslan Provodnikov for the WBO light welterweight title. Mayfield beat Michael Balasi in November, but he had been coming off two consecutive losses, including a defeat to Emmanuel Taylor, whom Algieri beat last year. Berto has won two fights in a row, most recently an impressive victory over Josesito Lopez in March. But he previously lost three of four fights, including two defeats at the hands of boxers who have lost to Mayweather.
Oscar De La Hoya has been mulling over a return to the ring, and he suggested that he should face the winner of Mayweather vs. Gennady Golovkin. But neither a rematch with De La Hoya nor a bout with GGG is likely in the cards.
The end of Mayweather’s contract doesn’t completely rule out the possibility of him fighting in 2016. But he’s stated on multiple occasions that he’s ready to retire, and he’s rejected the idea of a rematch with Pacquiao.
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