The first being WBC welterweight champion Mayweather’s original comeback tweet in February of this year, were the pound for pound number one named IBF rival Devon Alexander as the frontrunner to face him upon his return. Had the World Boxing Council not intervened with mandatory stipulations of Robert Guerrero for May 4, that all-American contest would have probably gone ahead after talks with ‘Canelo’ had firstly broken down.
Secondly, Mayweather is content on remaining at 147lbs for the time being, meaning any chance of the Mexican being given the opportunity would have to see what may be a painstaking shift on the scales to meet ‘Money’ at his current weight.
Alvarez boiling down to challenge for Mayweather’s 147lb title doesn’t seem a viable option for the talented 22 year-old, and with relations between the two camps at an all-time low, Alexander remains the hot favourite for the fall encounter.
Alexander, 26, faces British unkown quantity Lee ‘Lights Out’ Purdy on Saturday week in what many are seeing as a walkover for ‘The Great’ – but which in turn could be the most important fight of his career as Mayweather possibly awaits.
All the other top contenders at welterweight are currently tied up as Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez have agreed to meet and Paulie Malignaggi defends his WBA belt against Adrien Broner in June.
The winner of Malignaggi v Broner could potentially be in the shake-up for Mayweather, but with less than twelve weeks between June 22 and Floyd’s touted date of September 14 (although a hand injury may change that), the time constraints seem unrealistic for such a huge fight.
Former 140lb champion Amir Khan has announced his interest in fighting Mayweather in future, but without making his debut at the higher weight, it would be unlikely that the Briton would accept the fight with no experience of 147.
Ruslan Provodnikov could be in with a shout and after his showing against Bradley recently and would no doubt make Mayweather work for his money, although the Russian’s links with Top Rank would still see Golden Boy-signed Alexander at the front of the queue.
