Could an Interim Fight Ruin Floyd Mayweather Jr. Vs Manny Pacquiao?

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has returned.

The former Ring Magazine pound for pound champion has decided to end his "retirement" and fight Juan Manuel Marquez. Mayweather is the undefeated former pound-for-pound champion, and five division titleholder.

Marquez is the current Ring Magazine lightweight champion, and currently No. 2 pound for pound. Some in boxing see this as a case of a good big guy against a good smaller guy.

While Marquez certainly has his work cut out for him on July 18, a win by the Mexican warrior is certainly not out of the realm of possibility. Both fighters are looking past this fight to a proposed bigger matchup with Manny Pacquiao down the road.

For Mayweather, it will be the chance to reclaim the pound for pound spot he lost only due to his retirement and inactivity. For Marquez, it will be the opportunity to finally get a win over an opponent he has lost to twice.

For both fighters, a loss takes the luster off any matchup with Pacquiao later in the year. For Mayweather, this is seen as his version of a tuneup fight. It also perfectly fits his M.O. of finding the best non threat to fight.

Mayweather sees this as an "easy fight." Looking at it from his point of view, he has valid points. Marquez would be moving up in weight, is 35, and just went life and death with Juan Diaz.

In the early rounds against Diaz, it seemed the bigger Diaz was able to muscle and hit Marquez with solid shots before Marquez's accurate counter punching and ring I.Q. set in.

Mayweather is planning to use Marquez to get his timing and accuracy back down against a game, skilled, smaller opponent.

On Marquez's end, this is a great opportunity. If he loses, he can blame it on the size difference. If he wins, he gets a third fight with Pacquaio. In addition, there is the layoff factor. If Mayweather's rusty, Marquez can win rounds with his vast array of offense.

Mayweather is no pressure fighter like Diaz, and will not use his size to muscle Marquez. For Marquez to win, he will need to press the action, and not let Floyd lay back and pot shot him. If he can do this enough to win seven out of twelve rounds on two scorecards, we just may see the first loss on Mayweather's record.

In the meanwhile, word out of Pacquiao's camp is they are also looking for an interim fight. Names being throw in the hat have included Timothy Bradley, Miguel Cotto, and Shane Mosley.

Recently, it has come down to Cotto and Mosley. Cotto has a tough fight coming up on June 13th, against Joshua Clottey. Should he get past Clottey, a fight with Pacquaio would be a very intriguing fight, but it would have to be at welterweight to make sense.

Cotto struggled to get down to 140 his last few fights at that weight, and it showed in his performances. Freddie Roach wants to keep Pacquiao as close to 140 as possible, in order to protect his fighter. If the weight isn't a dealbreaker, this would be a good fight, albeit one Manny should be able to win.

For all of Cotto's body punching prowess, Manny has the speed and boxing ability to keep this fight at distance, where he could test Cotto's chin. I used to think Cotto was too big for Pacquiao. That was before I saw Pacquiao almost decapitate Ricky Hatton, who was also supposed to be too big.

The other name is probably the most likely. Shane Mosley currently is left without an upcoming fight, and would make for a very fan friendly fight. The weight would be a big issue for this fight, as it is highly unlikely Shane could get down to 142 or so to make this fight happen.

At welterweight, this is must-see tv. Shane always brings it, and Pacquiao has rarely disappointed. This would be a dangerous fight for Pacquaio, as Mosley would be the hardest puncher Manny has stepped into the ring with.

Mosley also has a solid chin, and has a great trainer in Nazim Richardson. Mosley's style would be polar opposite to that of Mayweather Jr. What Mosley has dubbed "power boxing" would certainly result in a war which could result in a short night for either fighter.

A win by Mosley over Pacquiao would likely force a Mayweather fight or Cotto rematch. A win by Cotto over Pacquiao would likely land him a fight with Mayweather Jr. A win by Marquez or Mayweather Jr would land either the fight with Pacquiao later in the year.

Confused? So am I. Good thing this will all be sorted out in the ring, starting July 18th on HBO PPV.

Source: bleacherreport.com