At 40 years-old, Manny 'Pacman' Pacquiao remains one of the biggest draws in boxing. Pacquiao's fight with Adrien Broner not only did well on Pay Per View, but it also showed the world that the Filipino dynamo is still an elite fighter. Following Pacquiao's win, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions Leonard Ellerbe said that the WBA champion practically has "unlimited options" for his next opponent.
Of course, the fight fans want to see a rematch between the unbeaten Floyd Mayweather and Pacquaio. Especially after Mayweather dominated the fighting pride of the Philippines en route to a unanimous victory in 2015. While Pacquiao's camp claimed that Manny was fighting injured during that time, few experts believed that the outcome would have been different had Pacquaio fought Mayweather at 100 percent.
That being said, Pacquiao showed little to no sign of slowing down. The Filipino Senator has won 4 bouts and lost one highly-controversial match after his defeat to Mayweather. However, Pacquiao's fights have both been competitive and entertaining - something that can't be said about all the high-profile boxing matches these days.
Pacquiao wants a rematch with Mayweather. That much is clear. However, Ellerbe shot Pacquiao's challenge down even before it got traction and said that Mayweather is retired and has no interest in fighting again.
Ellerbe did say that the Pacquiao-Broner title fight was a "very good and entertaining fight" and proceeded to name a few welterweight fighters who could face Pacquiao next. Ellerbe noted that Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, Errol Spence, Mikey Garcia, and Shawn Porter would all be great opponents for Pacquaio.
Of course, each fighter brings something different across the table and would be a good match against Pacquiao. Keith Thurman (29 wins/22 KOs) holds the WBA "Super" welterweight belt. Pacquiao holds the secondary belt which makes him the mandatory challenger for Thurman's title.
Thurman, who is coming off an injury, is scheduled to fight Joselito Lopez on January 26 and if he makes it past Lopez, Thurman could land the biggest fight in his career. The possible Pacquaio-Thurman title bout would also be easier to set up as both fighters are promoted by Al Haymon's PBC.
Danny Garcia (34 wins/2 losses/20 KOs) is a former welterweight champion who is scheduled to fight Adrian Granados on April 20. Garcia lost his title to Thurman via split decision and struggled to against Shawn Porter last year.
While his last few fights suggest that he may be slowing down, there is no doubt that Garcia is still one of the most fearsome fighters in the welterweight division. A Pacquaio-Garcia fight would also be easier to arrange since both fighters share the same promoters.
The undefeated Errol 'The Truth' Spence (24 wins/21 KOs) is probably the most intriguing prospects among Ellerbe's list. Spence is set to defend his IBF welterweight crown against the ever-dangerous Mikey Garcia on March 16.
The southpaw Spence has a good combination of speed and power could give Pacquaio a lot of problems if they were to face off next. Spence and Pacquaio are also promoted by PBC so setting this fight would be relatively easy.
Mikey Garcia (39 wins/30KOs) is another undefeated boxer who is seemingly following Pacquaio's footsteps. He debuted at the featherweight division and has won world titles in four different weight classes.
Garcia holds WBC lightweight belt and is scheduled to fight Spence next in a matchup between two of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world. The winner between Spence and Garcia could earn a potential fight with Pacquiao. Garcia is also promoted by PBC.
Shawn Porter (29 wins/2 losses/1 draw/17 KOs), the WBC welterweight titleholder, is scheduled to fight Yordenis Ugas on March 9. Porter has defeated quality opponents including Danny Garcia, Adrian Granados, Andre Berto, and Adrien Broner.
However, Porter's two losses came against Keith Thurman and Kell Brook. So a fight with Pacquiao would immediately catapult his name as one of the major players in the welterweight division.
There are other big names in the welterweight division. Terrence Crawford, Amir Khan, and Jeff Horn could also be future opponents for Pacquaio. Anyone of these boxers could give Pacquaio a good fight, and some of them could possibly beat Pacman.
But they are not Floyd Mayweather. And that's the fight that boxing fans want to see.
