During the latest leg of his vacation, Floyd Mayweather visited the Del Mar racetrack where he was pictured with celebrity writer Robin Leach. Under normal circumstances nothing to get too excited about, however on this occasion he decided to divulge the venue of his next fight, which surprisingly isn't going to be his adopted hometown of Las Vegas.
Talking to Leach in the Las Vegas Weekly, Mayweather said:
“We’ll announce it all very soon,”
“But this time it won’t be in Vegas. It will be in another desert kingdom: Dubai.”
Presumably then, he not only has a venue, but also a potential opponent lined up. Generally speaking where a fight is going to take place is the last thing to be decided, once the more important details like the purse split have been hammered out.
Assuming that this as yet unnamed opponent will probably be happy to accept whatever details Mayweather wants, the fact that a venue has been picked out suggests either that negotiations are at the very least well underway or that Floyd is expecting few problems in agreeing to terms.
The next question to ask then is just who that opponent might be?
Casting a wide net and looking at the top ten lists for light welterweight, welterweight and junior middleweight, there aren't many names who jump off the list as good potential opponents for Mayweather. Immediately about half of the names on each list can be discounted due to the fact that they are not well known on the world scene, and would hardly make for big selling fights.
Outside of that, most of the recognized names from all three divisions have opponents lined up already, meaning that unless the fight isn't happening until part way through next year, they too can be counted out.
Looking at the welterweight division first, the only other really big draw besides Floyd himself is Manny Pacquiao, who already has a fight against Antonio Margarito booked for November. Shane Mosley is fighting Sergio Mora next month, and has already fought Mayweather recently. Andre Berto has a HBO date booked and a mandatory challenger breaching down his neck.
Outside of that the next highest ranked fighter is Joshua Clottey, and his style coupled with Mayweather's wouldn't exactly make for an enthralling fight. Insomnia cure perhaps, but pay per view record breaker no. From there it all gets a bit obscure, and while they are a few decent talents on the way up, there aren't any that deserve to share a ring with Mayweather just yet.
Moving on the the light welterweight division and it's much the same story. The top four in Khan, Maidana, Bradley and Alexander look set to face off against each other, and following the logical next step of the two winners then unifying all the titles, won't be looking for any other opponents until at least this time next year. Outside of the top four there just isn't anyone who realistically measures up to Mayweather, and in beating Shane Mosley last time out he showed that he isn't undersized for the welterweight division anyway.
Junior middleweight is slightly better in that not all the top fighters all booked just yet, although most are in the process of putting fights together. Outside the top three or four again though there really isn't anyone Mayweather could fight while maintaining his credibility.
The only two fighters Mayweather has had any prolonged contact with over the past few months are Manny Pacquiao indirectly and Miguel Cotto who he visited on one leg of his extensive vacation. Pacquiao and Mayweather is still simply a non starter for the time being, and seemingly there are a multitude of issues that need to be worked out before they will ever meet in the ring. As things stand now they could well meet in a court room before they do in the ring. A fight against Miguel Cotto though makes a lot more sense for Mayweather right now.
One remaining problem though is that Cotto has a fight booked already against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in December. If arrangements have been made for Mayweather to take on the winner though, he has a guaranteed decent selling opponent and can capture the WBA junior middleweight strap as a bonus.
Mayweather vs. Cotto is just my guess at this stage, but it seems to tick all the boxes for what Floyd is probably looking for.
Feel free to comment with your own opponent theories.
Harry Rosborough, Pittsburgh: "If it's Cotto though he has to negotiate with big Bob who he hates, and where does don King fit into all this anyway if his next fight is already made?"
Andy Poole, Pittsburgh: "Looks like Golden Boy and Al Haymon are still running things if this is true. Then again Floyd could just be lying like he was in that charity video"
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Comments
I hope it's Paul Williams
Pwill beats Floyd, Pac and anyone else in the division. Or he would if they werent all scared to fight him
floyd will never face paul in the ring.....ever......
I think it is not Cotto because he is also scared of that guy so maybe he is going to pick a street vendor for him to stay undefeated. Coward coward coward!!!!!!
Cotto is under Top Rank!! i dont think Arum will negotiate with Mayweather if its not Pacquiao he's fighting
I believe he is going to call Darchinian or Donaire but not the like of Paul, Cotto, Margarito or Pacman. Floyd is an actor and gifted runner
The manager of Paul is related to Floyd's team....it won't happen besides Floyd would rather face Pacman than Paul. But in reality, Floyd is not going to fight someone he is not sure of winning so might call Hatton again, or Zab Judah.
100% gayweather VS. BOB arum....a good match!..haha...He will not win to bob and he will be K.O. in 1st round..BOB will be the p4p of all time.
WILLIAMS!!! WILLIAMS!!!
i think he will not fight cotto. he is afraid of that guy.maybe he will prefer a puertorican fighter in the name of Ivan Calderon or even look for a straw weight fighter
i think it will be MAYWEATHER VS IVAN CALDERON at welterweight
yes. i was picked to fight the great PBF. watch it boxing fans!
I think Floyd wanted to fight pacman since time immemorial, but pacquiao is the one dodging the suppose greatest fight the world has ever seen. Pacman is scared and makes so many excuses such not agreeing in random blood testing that would tell us the truth of his legendary in boxing. Floyd is the true warrior beyond reasonable doubt. VIVA FLOYD!
we are on the same boat my friend. . .i really hope floyd will face the Punisher. . .but it wont likely happen, because he is already afraid of the Pacman, whose smaller than him, and if that's it, then fighting the Punisher, who is a tall, both-fist-powerful, fighter, would make him cry to death. . .
How about that Hatton guy? Not Ricky. He probably has the same following as Ricky and easy fight for "Picky" Mayweather. As he say it, easy money.
Floyd is not fighting anytime soon, it's just another floyd bs. He needs to fight Pacquaio and drop that stupid steroid and blood test stuff...we have fully mandated people who can do this without intervention from floyd...he's just too scared to fight manny beacuse chances of losing is more than the chance of winning. manny fights anyone comes in his way and floyd is ducking and running already. if he's great then come on fight manny....
no, my idol floyd is just taking everything nicely. he just want a fair fight!!!!
BS
he's lying. he just want to get his name out there because pacman has a fight scheduled.
MATTHEW HATTON!!!!
Watta COPYcut guy... He can fight Miss JULATON... bwahahaha
If you can't express yourself clearlly in english, have some educated person help you out so that everyone reading comments on this site can figure out what you're trying to say. Comprende, gago ka pala!
it's - what a copycat (alisin mo na yung guy at bwahahaha) hindi ka naman nagte text eh.
No matter where 'LIL GAYFLOYD Jr. goes to fight... no one can buy his PPV.
THIS IS NON SENSE 100PERCENT HE WILL NOT FIGHT IN DUBAI..JUST ANOTHER FLOYD PLOY SO PEOPLE WILL TALK BOUT HIM. AFTER ALL THIS TIME, HE HAS NOT SAY ANYTHING WITH THE WORD "PACQUIAO"... GONE ARE THE DAYS WHEN FIGHTERS TALK TRASH TO EACH OTHER,...WELL, IF PAC IS INVOLVE, FLOYD SEEMS TO SHUT UP...QUACK QUACK QUACK
Floyd will fight in Dubai?Dubai is one of the Region part of UAE-Why not in Pakistan or Afghanistan Floyd?Well,u better fight away from America which is home of the brave,not a home of the coward......who cares about you......
Are you serious, Floyd? I thought nobody wants you in Dubai? They want Pacquiao, that I know. But you? You're just making something up. Another lie from the master of lying.
it is (as i have predicted in the past) OSCAR DE LA HOYA....floyd ducked dlh when he called him out for a rematch....floyd chose retirement!
Mayweather vs Ivan Calderon - Bob Arum
floyd , we're gonna make more money fighting pacman, not those bums. better think about it . i'll be your friend , promised.
I guess it will be floyd Vs cry baby part II
FLOYD VS DONAIRE.
if its true,maybe because all the possible threat of losing had sched. fights. he hav to choose martinez or paul williams.Good luck to your Zero L.
Let him be in Dubai so that we can buried him in the desert or stone him to death.
floyd vs bobby pacquiao
If it's true that Mayweather has an upcoming fight in Dubai, I bet it's against Pacquiao. Margarito doesn't even have a license yet. I think Margarito is just being used by the boxing people as a side act, and they really have no intention of letting him fight Pacquiao. Mayweather VS Pacquiao is already a done deal.
Just wait a few days and Margarito will magically be denied another license due to some other reason. Suddenly Mayweather will be Pacquiao's opponent and they'll fight in Dubai. For sure Mayweather won't get in the ring with a helpless camel or an oil tycoon!
i like your optimism, very refreshing!! creative too..
Yuriorkis Gamboa could KO Floyd in the first round!
yeap! mon key vs. don key
Cotto is under Top Rank!! i dont think Bob Arum will negotiate with Mayweather if its not Pacquiao he's going up against!!
this dog barks again but sounds like quack quack quack
where in dubai then?
floyd challenged nonito donair jr to jump up to the welter weight division to fight him. if he's going to fight a filipino, why not someone smaller right? ask peepee man
Floyd is fighting Manny. The Boxing Commissions and all other people involve in this event are setting it up. Margarito will get his license renewal denied by Texas Boxing Commission. Next month they will announce who Floyd will be fighting. Of course no other than Manny.
what a looser!
crap! who cares! hes a P4P Joke Of All Time!
People who call Mayweather Jr. coward a little midgets who have never stepped into the ring of combat sports, outside their little village, also populated by little midgets. Mayweather Jr. is an elite champion, plain and simple.
a-s-s-h-o-l-e--------------
Another Chicken Nuthugger !!!
To all MAYWEATHER CLAN/TEAM/FANS (FLOYDIOTS, MAYTARDS & FLOMOS) & GBP/DON KING Promotions:
………… /´¯/)
……….,/¯../ /
………/…./ /
…./´¯/’…’/´¯¯.`•¸
/’/…/…./…..:^.¨¯\
(‘(…´…´…. ¯_/’…’/
\……………..’…../
..\’…\………. _.•´
…\…………..(
….\…………..\
YOU ALL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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