By Simon Hirst: It has now been over a year since Floyd Mayweather last fought Ricky Hatton, knocking him out in the tenth round. Mayweather was then due to have a rematch with Oscar De La Hoya, but due to whatever reason, this did not happen. Floyd was highly regarded as the number one pound for pound fighter in the world before his retirement and although a few fighters have laid claim they should be the new number one, no one has really been convincing to the point that everybody recognises him as the number one. Manny Pacquiao, Joe Calzaghe, Juan Manuel Marquez, Israel Vazquez to name a few of whom some consider to be best in the world.
Many people believe Floyd Mayweather is just biding his time, waiting for that big money offer before making his return. However, could this be Mayweather’s downfall? Lack of in ring action may make him rusty and more vulnerable to being beaten. It has been said in the past he has been lucky to get decisions, namely Oscar De La Hoya and Jose Luis Castillo. Lets forget this though, Mayweather got the decision and we can’t turn back the time to change them, but it does prove that Mayweather may very well be beatable.
So who are the candidates? Well, let us assume that should Floyd Mayweather Jr return, he would return at welterweight. Now the welterweight division is buzzing with great fighters. Three stand out at the moment. Paul Williams, Antonio Margarito and despite the beating he got, Miguel Cotto. There is also Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya sniffing around for a rematch. I think it would be too much to happen, but should Manny Pacquiao beat De La Hoya, maybe he enters the frame. That would be more of a dream match in my opinion. Other contenders could come from the light middleweight division. I don’t think anyone from the middleweight division would come down to tempt Mayweather at light middleweight. If this was the case, I think everybody would be hoping that it would be Kelly Pavlik. Whilst I know this would never happen, I believe Mayweather would use his speed to beat Pavlik, although should Pavlik land a clean shot, it would be interesting. However, forget that, it won’t happen.
The serious contenders are Antonio Margarito, Paul Williams, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. Miguel Cotto would have to work his way back up to be in contention.
Starting with Ricky Hatton, Hatton was/is much criticised for drinking too much between fights. His last fight with Mayweather, he lost soundly in my opinion. He feels he didn’t get the rub of the green from the referee that night, who didn’t allow him to fight on the inside and get his shots in. He was wrongly deducted a point and in the end, fought desperately and was subsequently knocked out with a cracking left hook that jammed him into the ring post. To me, the fight should have ended there. However, in his last fight, he looked more reserved, thought about his punches more, didn’t rush in and looked a better fighter for it. Maybe his opposition wasn’t top class, but who knows, a more relaxed Ricky Hatton may give Mayweather more to think about. Let’s not forget about his fans, he has a huge fan base and a rematch could draw huge money.
Next up is Oscar De La Hoya. Oscar has two fights lined up before any talk with Mayweather is to be considered and that’s providing he wins them both and they are not easy. Firstly, he fights Pacquaio who he is expected to beat, although I’m not willing to bet on either man. Providing he comes through that, next up is Ricky Hatton. Hatton, who showed good form does tend to struggle at higher weights and this may be the key factor in a fight with De La Hoya. Only after beating ‘The Hitman’ could De La Hoya consider Mayweather and in beating ‘Pac Man’ and ‘The Hitman’ he’d have decent names on his record to argue he’d have earned the chance rather than bought it. It would also be a massive money fight again. With some giving De La Hoya the last fight, which officially went against him, it would be Mayweather’s chance to clarify this situation as well as another huge payday.
Next on the list would be Antonio Margarito. Margarito is coming off a sensational stoppage of Miguel Cotto and the first defeat of Cotto’s career. The man has a solid chin, which is considered one of the best in the business and a tireless work rate, which has the ability to upset Mayweather’s rhythm. Margarito almost got his chance against Mayweather, with Mayweather ‘ducking’ him in order to try to get a match with De La Hoya. However, the De La Hoya fight collapsed, leaving Mayweather to fight an unimportant fight against Carlos Baldomir. If Margarito could keep a fast work rate throughout the fight and force Mayweather on the rope defensively, then it would be an interesting fight to watch and may depend on whether the judges would plump for Mayweather’s counter attacking and defensive ability or Margarito’s attacking and work rate. Usually the latter would be preferred, but it would depend on quality. Margarito takes on Shane Mosley, which to me is a shame because Mosley was lucky to beat Mayorga in that last second KO win and Margarito should have been straight into a rematch with Paul Williams. He was surely behind on points and if it hadn’t been for that last second KO, his career would be over. Margarito, you would expect, should take care of him with ease, but you never know, stranger things have happened.
Last, but certainly not least, is Paul Williams. His only loss is to Carlos Quintana where he certainly didn’t fight his best fight, but four months later, he smashed him in a first round TKO. I think that fight was a learning curve for Williams and he hasn’t looked back since. He has Margarito’s name on his record and a rematch would be highly anticipated. Williams has the height and ability to keep cause Mayweather problems and most importantly, he has the power. From the 36 fights he has won, he has stopped 75% of these and 11 of the wins have come in the first round, two of which have come in his last three fights.
The question remains however, will Mayweather come back. Should he return, the question would then be, who does he fight? This would depend on Mayweather’s motivation for coming back. Should it be for money, which I think most may agree would be likely, then Hatton and De La Hoya are his most likely opponents. However, should he come back to unify the welterweight division and regain his status as the number one pound for pound undisputed boxer and truly cement his legacy as one of the best boxers of all time, then he’d have to get through Margarito AND Williams.
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