Mayweather v Maidana 2 was a bit of a joke. Even though I covered it, I have a hard time remembering another fight I was less interested in. Everyone I know had the same opinion as me and called the exact result (bar the biting controversy) well in advance.
There is a reason why Mayweather gave him the rematch. He knew it was an easy fight with such a short turn around compared to his usual routine. I know he won easily, but Floyd still looked his age this time.
Look at the market right now and you know there are 3 (possible 5) fighters who would have made a more entertaining fight.
Before I continue, let me get this out there - Mayweather is amazing. It's not just the number of wins without a loss, it's the quality of the fighters he beat. I understand there are questions around the timing of the fights and the weights they were set at, but let's face it, the true champions rise above that. Look at the Hearns and Haggler days or better still, look at the 60s-80s heavyweights. You had blokes who were really middleweights, stepping up with bigger, stronger men and still beating them.
Now back to the options. If anyone deserves a rematch, it was Cotto not Maidana.
Cotto pushed Floyd last time and has improved significantly since then. Look at the way he decimated Martinez. I understand Martinez had the knee issues, but I still thought he was going to win that fight (before it started obviously).
Pacquiao is obviously the big one. But for me that should have happened 5 years ago. Before Mayweather v Maidana 2, I would have said Floyd wins easy. Pacquiao has declined significantly in recent years, probably from the epic battles with Marquez. As noted above though, this most recent Floyd fight makes me think he has declined enough for this to possibly be competitive again.
Amir Khan is the last of the definite 3. I'm still not sold on Khan personally, but he is quicker and more of a pedigree fighter than Maidana. Questions exist around his chin, but it's starting to look like joining Virgil Hunter will be really beneficial considering how Virgil has worked with Andre Ward.
I did mentioned there were 2 possible other fighters. These would be Garcia and Marquez.
I have to contradict myself here and say I don't think Garcia would be an entertaining fight right now, but a lot of people are calling for him so I thought I'd mention him.
Do I love Garcia? Yes, I think he's a character and his dad is also fantastic. Any fighter that declares they want to make enough from boxing to open their own barber shop is great in my books haha.
Do I think he would be a chance against Mayweather? No. I believe he threw a chancer against Khan which was lucky to land. If it didn't, Khan would have won. I think he would look like Ortiz against Mayweather at this stage of his career. He's better off developing more as a fighter and making a name for himself in 4-5 years as one of the best for that time. But if it happened I would watch.
Marquez has beaten Pacquiao (arguably 3 times). He lost to Mayweather but under suspect circumstances (reference my comments above regarding weights and timings). If they fought at Marquez's natural weight, it would be more of a contest, however I think at this stage in their careers Floyd would win again. In saying this, Marquez would make for a more explosive fight and be able to counter better than all of Floyd's previous opponents.
