The 37 year-old had initially stated that he will rematch tough Argentine Marcos Maidana after his majority decision victory over ‘Chino’ in May, although nothing has since been addressed by anyone at TMT on the matter.
Since then, Danny Garcia has emerged as a genuine contender to step up from his lofty position as the unified light-welterweight king, whilst talk of Amir Khan being handed the chance has cooled due to the imminence of Ramadan.
Looking at Mayweather’s options for his 47th professional fight, there aren’t too many that standout instantly as ‘Money’ has either beaten them already, or they have suffered indifferent form of late. The likes of Devon Alexander, Luis Collazo and Paulie Malignaggi are out, whilst it may be just too early for current interim title holder to Mayweather’s WBA belt, Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman to share such a big stage.
IBF champion Shawn Porter is pushing on with his mandatory against Briton Kell Brook as things stand, but there is heavy speculation emerging that Mayweather is not even looking at a 147lber for his next contest.
That honour could now go to old foe Miguel Cotto, whose WBC middleweight title victory over Sergio Martinez opened up the opportunity for Mayweather to win a sixth-weight world championship against the Puerto Rican. Cotto, 33, is hot property after demolishing Martinez in New York, and with the four-weight belt holder sharing an entertaining bout with Mayweather in May 2012, the fight has the potential to be even bigger this time around.
It’s a stark contrast for the pound for pound king as there is a 20lb weight difference between the two main protagonists for his fall return, with Garcia and Cotto by far the most attractive options for Mayweather at this point in time.
The split with Golden Boy Promotions has implications on who Mayweather is willing to negotiate with, but as Cotto promotes himself, the fight may have even more attraction when the next target if formally identified.
So, Mayweather may well be participating in a lucrative rematch as he seeks to further extend his amazing record later in the year, although it is not certain to be the one he promised fans in the ring at the MGM Grand back on May 3.
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