Exactly when Floyd Mayweather plans on returning to the ring remains a mystery, however, if you’re one of the 703,267 fans that follow him on Twitter, you might have the inside track on where his next fight will take place. During an obvious lull in his rather hectic schedule, Mayweather decided to answer a select series of questions that fans Tweeted to him throughout the day. When one particular follower asked, “when u next in london,” Mayweather took the opporturnity to respond, “Sooner than you think. I’ll keep you posted.”
Given the manner in which Mayweather likes to floss his money as he travels around the world, that could mean anything, so again, another fan would ask, “When are you gonna come do your thing in england?” Mayweather’s response, “Real soon.” Now, obviously we have no idea if he’s dropping a hint about his next fight or simply planning his next vacation, but one has to wonder, if he truly plans on fighting Pacquiao, will he risk stepping into the ring with him next, or will he opt to take a tune-up after another long layoff. If the latter is true, the question is who could he possibly face?
While many have speculated that a bout with WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto might be his next best option, Mayweather’s latest Twitter update would have you believe that a showdown between the two undefeated fighters is highly unlikely considering that he just wished him a “Huge Happy” birthday. In boxing, two friends fighting each other is rare, and considering that Berto has never shown a real interest in testing his skills against elite competition, it’s doubtful that he’ll start with Mayweather. Bouts with Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez are highly unlikely as well, as the risk far outweighs the reward for Mayweather.
What is likely, however, is that Mayweather will indeed want to shake off the rust before stepping into the ring against his toughest competition to date. Given that he doesn’t have any real credible opponents to help put butts in seats in Las Vegas, there’s a strong possibility that Mayweather will take his show on the road. After all, this isn’t the first time that rumors of a world tour have circulated. Around this same time last year, shortly after the victory over Juan Manuel Marquez, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer suggested that Mayweather could go on a world tour showcasing his boxing skills. “I mean, he has such a global star, has such a truly global reach. I was with him in England. The guy could do a world tour. The guy could do a world tour, do two, three, four fights overseas like Ali used to do. Nobody has done that,” Schaefer stated in an interview.
In fact, at one point, Mayweather himself was seriously considering a bout in England as an option. “My ultimate goal is to fight in the UK eventually. That’s always been one of my dreams to come over to the UK to display my skills and display my talent for the fans all around the world, but especially for the fans in the UK,” Mayweather stated during a Sky Sports interview in November of 2009. When asked about the possibility of going on a world tour and fighting in different countries, Mayweather continued, “I’m talking with my team about that. That’s in the future, absolutely.”
So here we are, roughly a year later, and again Mayweather is bringing up the UK. Granted, he never said he would actually be fighting in England, so hopefully, Mayweather is simply referring to his next shopping spree as opposed to his next bout. However, if he does plan on fighting Pacquiao in 2011, it’s doubtful that he’ll want to do it without first shaking off some rust. Should he indeed be eyeing a tune-up in England, don’t be surprised if it’s Matthew Hatton standing in the ring across from him. After all, Hatton was just crowned the European Welterweight Champion, so it’s perfectly understandable that Mayweather would first like to test the waters against Europe’s best welterweight before building up the nerve to face the best welterweight in the world.
Source: http://boxing.fighthype.com
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