Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Having The Ultimate Undercard

By Rick Jones III - 01/29/2015 - Comments

floyd10By Rick Jones III: Boxing is about to have there “Super Bowl” on May 2nd when World champions Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao finally meet in the ring to settle some long awaited business.

The last few months have been nothing but Mayweather vs. Pacquiao news in the boxing world but I have also been wondering about the undercard. The Undercard for this fight is going to be crucial for any of the networks that broadcast the fight (Showtime / HBO) to truly say that this is the “Super Bowl “of boxing.

Speculation has gone on if the fight is made, who would fit into the undercard? I feel that the networks need to get this right in order to have the best boxing weekend of all time. I have many names that can and should be on the undercard but let’s look at the facts.

The rumor Amir Khan vs. Keith Thurman is not going to happen because Thurman is fighting Robert Guerrero on NBC. Khan vs. Kell Brooks should be on the undercard but won’t happen for two things, Khan doesn’t want the fight and Brooks is fighting his Mandatory. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Miguel Cotto would of been a great fight if they would of agreed to all terms and would of been great on the undercard also but no dice on that either.

Canelo is still planning on fighting on May 2nd and Cotto is waiting for some sign at the moment. So with all those possible fights not happening on the undercard you have to take into account that’s left and what sells to help make the numbers for the networks.

The Mayweather vs. Paquiao fight doesn’t need much to sell but we all know how the BIG companies can get the “greed” bug, so with that being said I am going to explain three fights on why they should be on the undercard. First bout that should take place to get the people in the seats to start the night off with a bang is Leo Santa Cruz vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux; this would be the first time that Cruz would be tested against a crafty boxer like Rigondeaux.

I believe Golden Boy Promotion fighter and I believe a Top Rank fighter but don’t hold me to it and current me if I am wrong if Rigondeaux is with Top rank. The point of this fight is to test Leo Santa Cruz and to make sure he is a legit champion and what better way to do it against Rigondeaux. The next fight on should be Amir Khan vs. Timothy Bradley. Amir Khan has thought all along that he is the next in line to fight Mayweather. He claims is the only name out there besides Pacquiao that deserves the fight. I seriously disagree.

I believe that Amir Khan has one more fight to prove that he deserves the title and that fight is against Timothy Bradley. Bradley is a proven warrior that has been in battles and has been tested. I look at both fighters resumes and by far if this was decided on paper, Bradley could well be Mayweather’s next opponent. Khan vs. Bradley would be a great fight on the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao undercard.

It would look like a mini tourney saying the winners from both fights would face off in September. The next fight that can also be the prep fight before the main event or the opening for the night is Abner Mares vs. Jhonny Gonzales II. The first fight was great, with Mares getting TKO in the 1st round.

The fight left a lot of fans wanting more. I honestly believe a fight between these two again can already be considered a fight of the year candidate. Abner Mares has grown in to a whole new fighter after that first lost to Jhonny Gonzales, where he himself admits that he went back to the basics and polished up his fighting techniques.

I know that there are many reasons why these fights can’t happen but there is as much reason why they should happen. Showtime or HBO need to make sure they deliver the best fights for this May 2nd weekend to help bring back boxing to its glory days.



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