First thing to do is to book a venue and a date. Opponent? Someone will come. Floyd Mayweather continues to keep the cards close to his chest, but his next fight will be on September 13, keeping his promise of fighting twice a year since signing that mega deal with Showtime, as the undefeated and current belt holder in two different divisions looks to make some more money before he retires.

Legacy? No fight he takes from guys in Welterweight or Light Welterweight will make him any greater than he already is; only richer. Obviously, he might need to take on an attractive name. There are no official numbers for his fight with Marcos Maidana which proved to be very entertaining and a lot more competitive than most Mayweather fights, but will probably fall quite short of the one million mark.

So who comes next? Amir Khan seemed to be in the running for the previous fight but Mayweather spurned him, choosing Maidana instead. It seems most Golden Boy fighters (Mayweahter won’t fight anyone from Top Rank, obviously) are waiting to see what Mayweather decides. Danny Garcia, a Junior Welterweight titlist and still undefeated, might be on top of that list, but he still hasn’t fought anyone above 140. Shawn Porter, also undefeated and a Welterweight titlist after beating Devon Alexander last year, is obviously considered. Some have also mentioned interim titlist Keith Thurman, with his impressive record of 21 KOs in 23 fights.

Khan is probably slightly above them. He has the bigger international appeal, and looked very good on the undercard of Mayweather’s fight with Maidana, easily beating former champion Luis Collazo. There’s also the opportunity of a rematch against Maidana, but that probably depends on the PPV numbers from their first fight. Seeing that Maidana might have found a way to beat Mayweather or damage him more than anyone else, it won’t be surprising to see Mayweather staying away from that one.

There’s always the name of Pacquiao hovering above prospective fights, but that isn’t happening. The moment for Mayweather to claim he is one of the greatest of all time and maybe the best sailed when he did everything he could to stay away from Pacquiao. Maybe we’ll get to see it one day, but probably not. What’s more likely, is Pacquiao fighting Juan Manuel Marquez one more time in a fight that he has everything to lose in, while Mayweather will most likely go with a safe choice – he’s getting paid anyway, and there’s no reason to risk his precious undefeated record.

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