Ring: Mayweather..not when but who

I agree. If he were to lose to JMM (which is possible) that would hurt any hope for now ,with a fight with pac. That would bring bigger $$$ if it were to happen. If he takes JMM as a tune up , that would be impressive. I like Marquez, but there is just no way he even comes close to beating Mayweather.

I really don't get why Floyd should or would consider JMM more than Pacman. JMM was high p4p when he retired and there wasn't even a hint they'd ever fight really. Plus he's not fought in the division below where Floyd would be now, let alone the same one. Meanwhile Pac whom is higher p4p and probably brings as much has, and could beat Floyds left overs in the division below (the guys own division) even worse than he did. Probably something to do with the fact that Floyd will not have fought in quite a long time and Juan Manuel represents the less dangerous matchup.

I really don't get why Floyd should or would consider JMM more than Pacman. JMM was high p4p when he retired and there wasn't even a hint they'd ever fight really. Plus he's not fought in the division below where Floyd would be now, let alone the same one. Meanwhile Pac whom is higher p4p and probably brings as much has, and could beat Floyds left overs in the division below (the guys own division) even worse than he did. JMM is available much sooner? If Floyd wants to come back why wait until may to make a fight you may not even be able to make happean (Arum runs Pacman's career and he des not seem to want that fight, there is a lot of money in it so it is not out of the question, Arum and Haymon's poor relationship is an obstacle that does not exist if Floyd fights someone from Golden Boy). Also with JMM, Floyd can bogart a large percentage of the purse, even with Floyd getting huge % of the split JMM will probably be happy because the total ammount he would get would be well above his biggest career payday.

I really don't get why Floyd should or would consider JMM more than Pacman. JMM was high p4p when he retired and there wasn't even a hint they'd ever fight really. Plus he's not fought in the division below where Floyd would be now, let alone the same one. Meanwhile Pac whom is higher p4p and probably brings as much has, and could beat Floyds left overs in the division below (the guys own division) even worse than he did.

JMM is the perfect comeback fight for Floyd. P4P #2, just knocked out 2 of the best lighweights.

I hope Mayweather-Mosley happens. Mosley will really have no one to fight if Mayweather-Marquez happens...

Very interesting... we will have to wait and see what happens, no point in jumping to conclusions.

I really hope he does come back so we have more major fights to look forward to, even if it is against JMM. I think that fight would be really interesting and more competitive than most people are expecting anyways - definitely not a tune up by definition lets put it that way.

a fight against jmm is only acceptable if floyd fights mosley in the next immediate fight. it better be in a 2 fight contract.

good article... he will definately return and fight a 35 year old JMM...

think this has already been up. Good read though.

cont... Mayweather knows all this, of course, which makes Marquez a natural comeback opponent, although that proposal didn’t materialize until the Mexican’s scintillating victory over Juan Diaz last month. Marquez has fought only twice at lightweight, stopping Diaz and Joel Casamayor, and would have to move up more than a full weight division to secure a Mayweather fight. And that assumes Mayweather agrees to a catch weight, somewhere between junior welterweight and welterweight. Marquez offers a presentable name for Mayweather’s resume -- a mandate for fans who would not embrace a wishy-washy comeback opponent -- although he is naturally smaller and a counter-punching specialist by nature. He is not slow, yet not exceptionally fast, so Mosley-like speed would not be an immediate comeback obstacle. Marquez also is not likely to pursue the attack with unfettered urgency, so Pacquiao-like aggession wouldn’t be an issue. It isn’t a fight we have seen before, which is the principal hurdle to selling Mayweather-Hatton II. What Marquez does possess is the ability to make mid-fight adjustments, as demonstrated against Diaz. But a mid-fight tactical disadvantage is something Mayweather encountered only once, in his first fight against Jose Luis Castillo, a career transitional moment after which he became a better and more complete fighter. Considering all those factors -- and the high probability that any comeback by the 32-year-old Mayweather will not be for just one fight -- Marquez’s availability, willingness, size disadvantage and clear underdog status might give him an inside track as the comeback opponent. Mayweather’s late-hours call to family members in Michigan after Pacquiao dismantled De La Hoya last year -- in which he breathlessly asked a cousin whether his father, Floyd Sr., might be interested in co-training him for a clash with Pacquiao -- betrayed his interest in fighting again. Ellerbe confirmed it days later, when he said his boss had empowered him to engage fight talks. Pacquiao inherited the pound-for-pound mantle when Mayweather abdicated it. A desire to regain that distinction in a single fight could spur Mayweather toward that intriguing clash. But Mosley also probably worked his way onto the comeback list after a decade of cat-and-mouse games that ultimately deteriorated into a futile tail-wags-dog effort as his career losses (now five) mounted. Mayweather-Mosley undoubtedly would be an intriguing fight and very well might happen, even if it makes little sense for Mayweather to embark upon such a challenge immediately, given Mosley’s recent activity and sharp stoppage of Antonio Margarito in January. Still, at 37, Mosley is given to uneven performances, as evidenced by his sluggish stoppage of Ricardo Mayorga last year, preceded by his loss to Cotto. Mosley seems very much like Roberto Duran at an advanced age: He is infinitely beatable, though it takes a quality fighter to achieve it, and no one wants to catch him on a good night. Mosley’s disadvantage is that whenever the fight made sense for Mayweather, he almost always balked. One night in 1999, Jack Mosley said his son would need $10 million to fight Mayweather. That same night, Mayweather earned a $150,000 base purse for defeating Carlos Rios. Two months later, Mosley couldn’t sell out a casino venue in the California desert for a lightweight title defense against John Brown. Later, as Mosley hit his career zenith with two wins over De La Hoya, he never even considered Mayweather. Mayweather’s recent $20 million demand to fight Mosley wasn’t so much a lack of market understanding during tough financial times as a backhanded response to the Mosleys’ laughable $10 million demand a decade earlier. Mayweather also still chafes at Mosley’s reluctance to fight him in 2006. Mosley was fresh off a victory over Fernando Vargas that reestablished him as a marketable force after four losses, two each to Winky Wright and Vernon Forrest. But Mosley wanted to take time off instead, ostensibly to allow his promotional boss, De La Hoya, to negotiate a fight with Mayweather that wouldn’t materialize for nearly another year. Mayweather-De La Hoya talks were balky from the start and there was no certainty the fight would materialize at the time of Mosley’s reticence. Mayweather hoped to fight Mosley first, then De La Hoya, but ended up with Carlos Baldomir as his interim opponent instead. Mosley finally acceded to the fight only after it made no sense for Mayweather, who went on to fight Hatton instead, while Mosley further diminished any potential for their fight by losing to Cotto. Two years ago this month, in a quiet conversation at his Las Vegas gym, Mayweather talked about how badly he needed to get away from boxing. The two most lucrative fights of his career, against De La Hoya and Hatton -- not to mention Dancing With the Stars and WrestleMania -- loomed in front of him. By the time he finally wanted to walk away from a lifetime in boxing, without a substantial break, he couldn’t. Now, with a gaudy lifestyle and unsatisfied IRS liens of more than $7 million against him, his comeback seems imminent. The tax liens are not uncommon -- he has had 10 such liens filed against him the last five years, roughly corresponding with his evolution into a pay-per-view magnet, which may not be optimal business practice, though it established a discernible pattern -- but the flash and panache require constant fiscal feeding. That, and shared heritage, may be Mosley’s biggest advantage in securing a fight with Mayweather, according to my source. In the 10-plus years since Mayweather won his first world championship bout, over Genaro Hernandez, he fought only one title bout against a fellow black American -- Zab Judah, who controlled the first four rounds of their 2006 fight before Mayweather took control. Mayweather’s only other fights against African-Americans during those years were non-title bouts against Emanuel Augustus and Demarcus Corley, both of whom had some good moments against him. Fact is, few African-Americans ever called out Mayweather, save for those it made no sense for him to fight. Judah got his chance after years of wrangling, despite nearly blowing the proposition with his untimely loss to Baldomir in the bout immediately preceding his loss to Mayweather. Winky Wright called out Mayweather, though weight and money gaps doomed those talks quickly. Paul Williams faces similar divisions in pursuing Mayweather today, though a willingness to move freely between weight classes could help narrow them if he defeats Wright next month. Wright himself last year noted the belief that African-Americans have “different styles” from the “face-first” opponents most fight fans and journalists tend to embrace. “Boxing is supposed to be an art,” he said. “Black fighters, we’ve got style. We’ve got pizzazz.” Whether that is enough to make Mayweather-Mosley immediately is questionable. But if such oddly artful perceptions help to strike a deal before the fight’s expiration date, who cares about the motivation? David Mayo covers boxing for the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press. He has covered Mayweather since he fought as an amateur.