Boxing News: Which Boxers Could Battle Floyd Mayweather in Next Fight?

By Edwin Molina Sep 15 2014, 09:50 AM EDT

Floyd "Money" Mayweather managed to once again keep his perfect record intact, going 47-0 after defeating Argentina's Marcos Maidana in a very ugly and chippy rematch that lacked any real drama.

For all the talk about bringing exciting fights to the fans and with two fights left in his Showtime contract, Mayweather has to choose an opponent that can justify charging boxing fans $75 for his pay-per-view (PPV) events.

Boxing fans, both the casual and the hardcore fans, are clamoring for better challenges as Mayweather's career is winding down. "Money" reiterated last week leading up to the Maidana fight that he plans on hanging up his gloves once he has fulfilled his contract with Showtime. Fighters in various weight classes, fully aware that Mayweather is looking to retire sooner rather than later, are looking for that big paycheck and jockeying to win the "Money" sweepstakes.

"Everybody wants to fight Floyd," said CEO of Mayweather Promotions Leonard Ellerbe. "He represents their biggest payday. There are a number of very good fighters out there in his weight class or around his weight class."

Here is a look at potential opponents that Mayweather may want to put on the "B-side" of the negotiating table:

Amir Khan

The young 27-year-old from Bolton, England, who is 29-3, has been openly lobbying to be Mayweather's next dance partner since last year, when he was considered as a potential rival for Mayweather only to have The Money Team choose Maidana over Khan.

Khan has won his last three fights in a row since losing to Danny Garcia via TKO in 2012 and would present a different type of challenge for Mayweather, able to match speed with the slick fighter and possibly being able to land shots on Mayweather.

"I really believe I can beat Floyd Mayweather with my style," said Khan to the UK Daily Mail after the Mayweather-Maidana fight. "Styles make fights and I think with my movement and my explosiveness, the power that we have developed and being young, I think it's youth that can beat Mayweather. I know it's different when you're watching a fight from the outside but I saw lots of flaws today which I never saw."

Khan can also put butts in the seats and a fight at Wembley Stadium, while it would put Mayweather in the uncomfortable position of giving away home-ring advantage (and judges) to Khan, could entice Mayweather's business sensibilities to make more money. Mayweather is not foolish when it comes to making money, and has already begun aiming his verbal barrage at Khan, though he made it clear he is unsure who his next opponent could be.

"I can't really say what age I felt, I felt like the winner," said Mayweather in the post-fight press conference. "Everyone has taken shots at Floyd Mayweather. I mean I think when Amir Khan was an amateur, I was champion. And then when Amir Khan turned pro and got knocked out, I was champion. Then when Amir Khan got knocked out again, I was champion. And then when he lost his belt again, I'm still champion and I'm still right here."

Miguel Cotto

Cotto -- with a record of 39-4, is taking the rest of 2014 off as he weighs his options -- and he has many options.

At the age of 33, Cotto may be eyeing one more huge payday, and a rematch with Mayweather would get a solid buy-rate as well as move tickets. Cotto fights at historic Madison Square Garden are guaranteed sell-outs, especially when he throws an event at the "Mecca of Boxing" the weekend of New York City's Puerto Rican Day parade.

But while Cotto could make a lot of money sitting across from Mayweather sitting on the "Table B" side of negotiations, the Puerto Rican fighter has the luxury of calling his own shots, being "Table A" with several other lucrative potential fights on the horizon.

Kazakh boxer Gennady Golovkin called out Cotto after defeating Daniel Geale in July and, while "Triple G" is scheduled to take on Marco Antonio Rubio, the young fighter would be willing to battle the Puerto Rican legend at Madison Square Garden in a heartbeat. With both a large Puerto Rican and Eastern European populations located in New York City, the fight could be a huge moneymaker for both boxers.

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The other, more attractive fight for Cotto is Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. The rivalry between Mexican boxers and Puerto Rican fighters is intense, whether it's Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.-vs-Hector "Macho Camacho or Oscar De La Hoya-vs-Felix "Tito" Trinidad, and guaranteed to draw whether the fight were held in New York City or Las Vegas. An added element to a Canelo-Cotto bout is that Alvarez has defeated Cotto's brother, Jose Miguel, in 2010.

While it would be hard to turn down a huge offer from Mayweather's Money team, Cotto does not need Mayweather to set up a mega-fight for himself as he heads into the twilight of his career. De La Hoya, Alvarez's promoter, met with Top Rank Boxing's Bob Arum this weekend about setting up a potential fight between Alvarez and Cotto for Cinco De Mayo weekend.

"Behind Floyd and Manny, that's the fight people want to see," said De La Hoya.

Manny Pacquiao

It's hard to deny that both Pacquiao and Mayweather have made a lot of money avoiding this fight. And while some hardcore fight fans have become ambivalent whether they even want the fight to happen anymore, especially after "Pac-Man" was knocked out into the middle of next week by Juan Manuel Marquez, a Pacquiao-Mayweather will break PPV records, with casual boxing fans still intrigued by both fighters.

Pacquiao, who is 56-5-2, has bounced back since losing in back-to-back fights to Timothy Bradley and Marquez, first defeating Brandon Rios in Macau, in a fight in which Rio's style was tailor-made for "Pac-Man." Pacquiao later avenged his loss at the hands of Bradley, beating him via decision 116-112, 116-112, and 118-110.

Pacquiao returns to Macau to face former kickboxer-turned-boxer Chris Algieri, who is currently 20-0. While Pacquiao is the heavy favorite against Algieri who, despite being a scrappy fighter, is largely inexperienced compared against "Pac-Man," Pacquiao is not in the position to underestimate Algieri. Algieri upset Emmanuel Taylor on ESPN2 via decision in February and then surprised hard-hitting Russian Ruslan Provodnikov on HBO's "Boxing After Dark," taking the Siberian's World Boxing Organization (WBO) Light Welterweight championship in June.

Mayweather addressed the elephant in the room when Jim Grey asked him about a potential bout against Pacquiao after he beat Maidana, though the answer will not please many.

"Manny Pacquiao needs to focus on the opponent in front of him," said Mayweather said to Showtime during a post-fight interview in the ring. "Once he gets past that task, we'll see what the future holds."