pac By Isaac Brodie: Floyd Mayweather Jr. is without a doubt the biggest name in boxing. And from the second the bell rang on his September 14th contest the world was already asking, who’s next?

The answers have sprung up, ranging from the predictable (Danny Garcia) to the absurd (Bernard Hopkins), and from the new heroes (Gennady Golovkin) to the old favorites (Manny Pacquiao). But at this point there is one possible challenge for Floyd that could meet everyone’s criteria, many have suggested and I agree that this man is Sergio Martinez.

To many that GGG would seem like the more exciting choice. I agree. However I’ve chosen to try and base this article on fights that have a (vague) chance of coming into fruition. Gennady would surely make a great fight. With the kind of power he has in either hand there would be enough of a danger factor to keep the crowd on the edge of their feet. Also he has the level of skill, though it is largely overshadowed by his power, to make a much more exciting fight than Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. I would expect a knock down were the fight to take place. But it’s still difficult to bet against Floyd after such a dominant performance. And we can’t expect this fight to take place because GGG still doesn’t have the star power to draw the kind of numbers Showtime will be expecting.

With no other obvious threats at 140-154 this leads us to Martinez. Were they to meet at 154lbs. Sergio would have the speed, style, experience and offensive capabilities to give Floyd some serious difficulties. Or so I hope. In my opinion he should be the obvious choice to meet Floyd in May.

But as always when the subject of Floyd’s next opponent comes up, so does the Pac-Man. Despite loosing his last two fight (whatever your opinion on the Tim Bradley fight that’s what it says on paper) fans still hold on to the hope that Manny could be the one. I admit I too still hope that Manny could return to his prime and offer a real fight for the p4p king. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is a fight that should happen, even though it is starting to seem more like an after thought. Floyd has made it clear he no longer needs Pacquiao, but a large proportion of the fans think otherwise. It’s something that we’ve all been talking about for so long that we’ve gotten stuck on the thought. If nothing else this having this fight finally take place would allow the boxing world to move on with some level of closure. Pacquiao is still one of the best p4p fighters of this generation, so despite a slight decline and a devastating loss he should still be considered one of the best possible opponents for Floyd. But in order to convince the rest of the boxing world, and more importantly Floyd, Pacquiao needs to assert himself again on the p4p spectrum.

This is why I would call for a play off. Sergio Martinez Vs. Manny Pacquiao at 154lb. for the chance of the largest payday of their careers. Stylistically this would be a dream. Is Sergio too big for Manny? Maybe. But Manny is desperate to prove himself and what better way is there to do it? This fight would make a sizable amount of money for both, it would solidify or improve the p4p standing of the winner and it would guarantee public interest and approval of a fight between Floyd and the winner. Whoever came out victorious from this match up would be without a doubt the best possible opponent for Floyd both financially and physically.