By Jake Donovan

With the recent retirement of Floyd Mayweather Jr., there existed a gaping hole atop the mythical pound-for-pound list, at least for those care about such rankings. The near-universal recognition has unbeaten World flyweight champion Roman Gonzalez receiving the proverbial torch, although the subject is wide open to debate.

Mayweather (49-0, 26KOs) offered some suggestions of his own, naturally with his choices having some sort of ties to his own incredible career.

"(Manny) Pacquiao could still be #2. I think so because of accomplishments," the boxer-turned-promoter claimed during a recent edition of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC): Toe-to-Toe Tuesdays on Fox Sports 1. The comment came just as Mayweather Promotions cruiserweight Andrew Tabiti turned a televised swing bout into a showcase performance, dropping and eventually stopping Tamas Lodi in two rounds.

The bout ended early enough to disallow the future Hall of Fame fighter from expanding on his thoughts, or explaining why he's changed his stance on the Filipino icon after previously dogging him and referring to his perceived greatness as a media creation. However, he did manage to plug one of his own proteges, red-hot 20-year old prospect Gervonta Davis.

Mayweather took Davis - an unbeaten boxer from Baltimore - under his wing earlier this year and continues to sign his praises, including during the course of the Fox Sports 1 broadcast.

"We're working with Gervonta Davis closely. He will be the next Floyd Mayweather, or if not then close to it. Tremendous fighter," Mayweather said of the super featherweight.

Davis (12-0, 11KOs) is coming off of a 1st round knockout over Recky Dulay this past September in Las Vegas. The win - his third straight 1st round knockout - came on the non-televised undercard of Mayweather's 12-round win over Andre Berto in what he insists is the last of his 49-fight career.

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Facebook Page: JakeBScene