Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless spent a few minutes toward the end of Wednesday's edition of "First Take" on ESPN roughing up boxer Manny Pacquiao. They had their facts incorrect, and they shredded Pacquiao for comments he didn't make.

It wasn't their finest hour. It turns out that Pacquiao hadn't quoted the biblical verse from Leviticus that they accused him of doing. They could have learned that, because six hours before they went on the air and made fools of themselves, the writer of the original report said the Leviticus quotes were his, not Pacquiao's. A slew of other reporters actually got a hold of Pacquiao and clarified the matter.

Smith and Bayless, though, didn't check. They spent about six minutes Wednesday debating whether what Pacquiao had said would impact the finances of a potential fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. They were reporting -- inaccurately -- that Pacquiao had advocated death for homosexuals, and yet they chose to discuss the financial implications those comments might have upon a boxing match rather than addressing the substance of what Pacquiao supposedly said. If Pacquiao had made that Leviticus comment, he would have deserved the excoriation he got from The Two Stooges.

Smith and Bayless, though, largely overlooked that part and instead debated how it may impact a Mayweather fight. Rather than condemning Pacquiao for such an outrageous comment and advocating the need for tolerance and understanding, Smith and Bayless treated it as an economic situation.

The true horror of this story came on Thursday, however, after they'd learned that Pacquiao had not made the comments they attributed to him.

They chose to apologize, which was a good idea. Pacquiao deserved it, and so, too, did their viewers.

What occurred, though, wasn't an apology but rather a couple of self-righteous rants in which both Bayless and Smith placed the blame for their mistakes on others.

Host Jay Crawford began the apology segment Thursday by reading a statement from Pacquiao in which he denied the Leviticus quotes. Crawford then noted that writer Granville Ampong of Examiner.com, who wrote the original story that ignited the controversy, made it clear the Leviticus quotes were his words.

Bayless then took over. Here's their initial exchange:

Bayless: Stephen A., I don't feel guilty about what we discussed near the end of yesterday's show. There's no need for us to apologize for it.

Smith: I had no intentions of apologizing.

Crawford: You were reacting to what you believed was the truth.

At that point, it became truly bizarre. Nobody at ESPN checked their sources. Someone somewhere at ESPN read a story on the Internet and believed it to be correct. It was, of course, salacious since it involved a high-profile personality and a hot button topic.

It appears a First Take producer failed to do the simple fact checking one might expect of a high school journalist. Then Crawford, Bayless and Thompson opted to discuss at length a topic about which they knew nothing.

Bayless, though, wasn't about to take the blame.

But I do feel terrible that we were prisoners of the shoddy journalism that we were handed on the fly up against the end of our show. We reacted accordingly to that. And I feel terrible for Manny Pacquiao's sake because he took a beating yesterday that he did not deserve,  from all that I've gathered.

Apparently in Bayless' world, if you're running out of time, you're allowed to skip the basic tenets of journalism and rip first and report later.

On television discussion shows like First Take, the on-air talent is often told of breaking stories by their producers, and so they're often at the mercy of the information their producers give them. When they learned of the Pacquiao situation, it should have been clear a gentle touch was required. Both know Pacquiao well enough to know that he had never made such outlandish statements. They could have commented while also making it clear that there was much to still learn. Most of all, they should have stressed tolerance.

Instead, they chose to dive full bore into the fray without possession of the facts, but increduously, they somehow saw fit to blame others for their failings. Smith's attempt at an apology was even worse, if possible, than the half-baked one Bayless delivered.

Smith essentially patted himself on the back for agreeing to admit he'd utterly and completely failed to do his job.

We also have to take into account that this show right here is also one of those moments that makes me proud. We're able to sit here and correct whatever erroneous information is put out there. We're men enough to do it, which is far more than we can say for some of our contemporaries in this business who will remain nameless. They know who they are. Because you got a lot of people out there who sit there and because of the blogosphere and the social networking and the age that we live in, everybody is interested in being first. Not everybody, but a lot of people of people are interested in being first rather than being correct.

It was Smith and Bayless who were interested in being first rather than correct. Why not wait a day to address the issue when you'd had a chance to look into it? Oh, because it might have been old news by the next day.

In Smith's warped logic, he is to be commended for going off half-cocked and then coming back the next day and apologizing. He tried to insinuate it's because unlike others, he's interested in substance and not sensationalism.

But they would never sit up here and address something that was erroneous and had their name attached to it because they are devoid of courage.

What Bayless or Smith should have said on Thursday was something like this: "Folks, as we were going off the air on Wednesday, we criticized boxer Manny Pacquiao for comments we believed he had made advocating death for homosexuals. Unfortunately, we were wrong and Pacquiao had not made those comments. We know you, our viewers, expect more from us. You expect insightful, intelligent and fearless discussion of the day's hottest issues. You also expect us to have our facts correct. We did not in this instance and we apologize to Manny Pacquiao for that, as well as to those of you who tuned in."

The blogosphere that Bayless and Smith railed upon made them look like a pair of two-bit journalists hardly worthy of the prestigious positions they hold.

While reporters who care about small things like facts and accuracy went out, dug into the story and uncovered the truth, Smith and Bayless revealed themselves in their apologies as nothing more than a pair of bloviating, self-righteous boobs.

On this day, as apparently on many others, First Take was clearly a False Take.

Little could be better for the future health of boxing if the little nugget buried inside a Los Angeles Times news story bears fruit.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told the Times' Lance Pugmire that he's spoken to Top Rank president Todd duBoef regarding a potential Juan Manuel Marquez-Erik Morales fight at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on June 14.

A Marquez-Morales fight should have happened years ago, but that's beside the point in terms of the bigger picture here.

The fact that representatives of the two warring companies are talking about working together again should be cause to celebrate for anyone who wants to see good fights.

They are, by far, the two largest and most successful promoters in the world and they have the largest stable of fighters. But for most of the last five years, and a lot of the last 10, they've refused to do business together because of feuds that are so difficult to unravel, a full explanation would take longer than Chris Berman's speech at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.

That feud has cost each company, and their fighters, untold thousands, if not millions of dollars, and deprived fans of a lengthy list of great fights, up to and including the much desired Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Golden Boy)-Manny Pacquiao (Top Rank) fight.

The Times, though, in a story largely about Amir Khan's next fight, quotes Schaefer confirming that he's talked with duBoef about putting Morales in against Marquez at Cowboys Stadium.

That's a good fight, but what's significant is that Todd and I are having a conversation

It's good that Schaefer gets the significance of it. In the last year or so, duBoef has begun to refer to himself as the "boxing evangelist" and has talked about many of the good but under-reported things that are going on in the sport. Significantly, he's praised things Golden Boy has done and hasn't taken the tack of trashing the opposition like has been done so often between the parties recently.

It's a long way from a quote in the newspaper to the realization of Mayweather-Pacquiao, but in this boxing Cold War, it's about as good as it gets these days.

If Manny Pacquiao loses, or even struggles to a win, when he fights Timothy Bradley for the World Boxing Organization welterweight title on June 9 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, boxing writers around the world will point to hubbub of the last three days as the reason.

Distractions, they'll say. The controversy surrounding Pacquiao's comments to Examiner.com regarding same-sex marriage will have taken his focus off his preparation for the bout, they'll point out.

Pacquiao is one of the two best fighters in the world, alongside Floyd Mayweather Jr., and super human things are expected of each of them. Pacquiao's better than a 4-1 favorite to beat Bradley, who himself is one of the world's 10 best fighters, and anything less than a dominant win won't be seen as enough.

The truth is, the controversy isn't even a blip on Pacquiao's radar. It will have zero impact upon the way he fights. If he loses, it will be because either Bradley was better on that night or that Pacquiao is slipping a bit, as most fighters his age (33) with the amount of fights he has (59) tend to do.

The controversy battered his image as a sweetheart of a guy who had unfailingly been portrayed as a wide-eyed innocent only looking to help others and make his country proud.

The truth is, he's a flawed man, as all of us are, with his share of skeletons in his closet. He was a big-time gambler and, apparently, quite the ladies man despite being a married father of four. Media in the Philippines have reported allegations of an affair with actress Krista Ranillo.

Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, told the Los Angeles Times in a recent interview that Pacquiao's many distractions before his November win over Juan Manuel Marquez were "girls and everything that goes with it." Roach described Pacquiao out late gambling and said it all took its toll.

Perhaps. If it did, Roach would know better than anyone. However, it's nothing new and Pacquiao is in the midst of a 15-fight winning streak over the last seven years in which he rose from just another talented smaller fighter to an icon of his sport.

Since that 2005 loss, he's beaten at least six guys -- Juan Manuel Marquez twice, Erik Morales twice, Marco Antonio Barrera, Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto -- who figure to be elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame one day.

He's not only won, but he's done it most times in spectacular fashion.

The distractions didn't bother him then, and there were plenty of them.

When he steps into the ring on June 9, he's going to be as physically ready to fight as he can be. If there is one thing Pacquiao does as well as anyone, it's training amazingly hard.

The controversy caused by his views on same-sex marriage -- which, it is fair to point out, are the same as virtually every Republican member of the U.S. Congress -- may not be forgotten by fans, media and sponsors by the time Pacquiao steps into the ring at the MGM Grand Garden on June 9 to defend his title against Bradley.

The one person in the world you can be assured who won't be thinking of it that night, though, is Manny Pacquiao.

It's not too often a boxer blasts the President of the United States, but it's also not too common that an active fighter gets elected to Congress. But boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, a freshman congressman from Sarangani Province in the Philippines, laid into President Obama because of Obama's support for gay marriage.

Pacquiao, who defends his World Boxing Organization welterweight title against Timothy Bradley on June 9 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, is a devout Catholic who has brought a spiritual advisor, Pastor Jeric Soriano, with him from the Philippines to Los Angeles. He visited Obama in the Oval Office last year, discussing basketball and boxing with the president.

In an interview with the National Conservative Examiner, Pacquiao criticized Obama's stance as an attack on the will of God.

"God only expects man and woman to be together and to be legally married, only if they so are in love with each other.

"It should not be of the same sex so as to adulterate the altar of matrimony, like in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah of Old."

Pacquiao's comments, along with statements in 2011 opposing birth control, put him in line with conservative Republicans and against Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), whom Pacquiao campaigned for during a hotly contested reelection campaign in 2010 against Sharron Angle. Reid may not have won without Pacquiao's late support. Ironically, Reid supports gay marriage and Angle was strongly opposed.

[Related: Timothy Bradley Jr. ready to step into the spotlight vs. Manny Pacquiao]

At the Catholic Bishops Conference in the Philippines in 2011, Pacquiao took a hardline stance against contraception, supporting the church's position.

"God said go forth and multiply. [...] He did not say go and have just one or two children."

Pacquiao is entitled to his beliefs, but he looked a bit hypocritical when it turned out that his wife, Jinkee, nearly divorced him in November. The Los Angeles Times last week reported that trainer Freddie Roach said Jinkee Pacquiao served divorce papers upon her husband shortly before his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.

Roach subsequently denied saying she served divorce papers, though he didn't deny that Pacquiao's lifestyle was hurting his fight career. Roach said that, among other things, the distractions that negatively impacted Pacquiao were "girls and everything that goes with it." In January, Martin Rogers reported on ThePostGame.com that Jinkee Pacquiao had given her husband an ultimatum and forced him to clean up his act.

Subsequently, Pacquiao said he had a religious "awakening," and has been deep into Bible study. Roach told the Times that Pacquiao also sold a casino he owned. He's also no longer into cock fighting.

"Now, he's back with his wife, reading the Bible every day, and he's given up basketball," Roach said.

In 2006, Pacquiao signed two promotional agreements, one with Top Rank and another with Golden Boy, essentially beginning the feud between the companies that exists until this day. In the litigation, Roach testified that Golden Boy President Oscar De La Hoya gave Pacquiao a suitcase filled with $250,000 as an inducement to sign with GBP. De La Hoya had met Pacquiao at Los Angeles International Airport after a flight from the Philippines as he was to begin training camp.

"I never saw the suitcase open, but (De La Hoya) told me it was Manny's signing bonus, and I later heard it was $250,000, but I'm not sure of the amount," said Roach.

Pacquiao ran for Congress because of his desire to help his countrymen, many of whom live in dire poverty. He is leading the fight in Congress to build a hospital in Sarangani, where the nearest hospital is located about an hour away in General Santos City. Pacquiao has committed some of his money to the cause, and is trying to help raise the funds needed privately so the cost of the hospital won't be borne by Filipino taxpayers.

He's also a staunch opponent of human trafficking, which has been a significant problem in his country.

He's done more for his countrymen than most people have ever done for theirs, and he's to be commended for that. It's why he's one of the world's most popular athletes.

But his condemnation of Obama's stance on gay marriage would not look as suspect as it does, though, if he wasn't living such a promiscuous lifestyle only a few months ago. The timing of his comments could have been better, after he demonstrated that his recent behavior and attitude changes aren't simply short-term fixes but more permanent and fundamental in nature.

Other popular content on the Yahoo! network:
• Seahawks QB Russell Wilson's shot to start reveals Pete Carroll's commitment issues
• Kevin Garnett vows readiness to 'die' for the Celtics
• Y! Autos: World's 'fastest amphibious car' for sale to shipbuilding racer

Brian Viloria had a long and frustrating history with Omar Nino, but as the member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic boxing team discovered, all's well that ends well.

Viloria stopped Mexican Omar Nino in the ninth round Saturday to retain his World Boxing Organization flyweight title in Pasig City, Philippines, finally putting to rest a long and frustrating six-year saga with the Mexican.

In 2006, the heavily favored Viloria lost his World Boxing Council junior flyweight title to Nino in Las Vegas. Later that year, they fought to a draw, but the result was changed to a no-contest when Nino failed a post-fight drug test, getting caught with methamphetamine in his system.

Even that drug test played a role in Saturday's fight. Nino had failed to pay an $11,250 fine to the Nevada Athletic Commission and, as a result, the WBO refused to sanction the scheduled March 31 bout. That pushed the bout back until Saturday in the Philippines.

Viloria was relieved to finally put Nino in his rear-view mirror, he told Roy Luarca of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

It was a big psychological win; It got the monkey off my back.

Hopefully, the win will also lead to what should be a sensational bout with WBA flyweight champion Hernan "Tyson" Marquez. Viloria told GMA News in the Philippines that he's interested in a bout with Marquez, who defeated Luis Concepcion in the 2011 Yahoo! Sports Fight of the Year.

It will be a really great fight, the way his style is and the way my style is. The way I see it, it's going to be fun for the crowd and the boxing fans. It's going to be really marketable, the Mexican versus the Filipino.

The huge pay-per-view numbers that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer was anticipating for the Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto fight came in on Friday. HBO announced that the May 5 bout at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, which Mayweather won by unanimous decision, sold 1.5 million pay-per-view units and generated $94 million in pay-per-view revenue.

That makes it the second-biggest non-heavyweight fight of all-time, behind only the 2007 match between Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya, which did 2.5 million. It is also the sixth largest boxing pay-per-view ever.

The Mayweather-De La Hoya bout sold 2.5 million pay-per-view units and generated $137 million in revenue, according to HBO.

The top pay-per-view bouts ever, according to research by Yahoo! Sports:

1. Floyd Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya, May 5, 2007, Las Vegas, 2.5 million
2. Mike Tyson-Lennox Lewis, June 8, 2002, Memphis, Tenn. 1.98 million
3. Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield II, June 28, 1997, Las Vegas, 1.98 million
4. Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield I, Nov. 9, 1996, Las Vegas, 1.59 million
5. Mike Tyson-Peter McNeeley, Aug. 19, 1995, Las Vegas, 1.55 million
6. Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto, May 5, 2012, Las Vegas, 1.5 million

The $94 million generated by Mayweather-Cotto is fourth all-time. It trails Mayweather-De La Hoya ($137 million); Tyson-Holyfield II ($110.8 million); and Tyson-Holyfield I ($100 million).

The replay of Mayweather-Cotto, along with the rebroadcast of Canelo Alvarez's win over Shane Mosley, will be on HBO on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.

A failed drug test by Lamont Peterson that was announced on Tuesday forced cancellation Wednesday of the scheduled May 19 super lightweight title bout planned for Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas between Peterson and former champion Amir Khan.

Peterson tested positive for a synthetic testosterone following a March 19 random drug test. The results were obtained by the Voluntary Anti-Drug Association, which was overseeing the testing, on April 12. Peterson was informed that his A sample tested positive the next day. On April 30, his B sample was tested and came back positive on May 2. Richard Schaefer, the Golden Boy Promotions chief executive officer, said he only discovered the positive test on Tuesday.

Schaefer was irate that he hadn't been notified by Peterson or anyone from  VADA about the tests. He said if either had let him know, he could have found a suitable replacement. Because of Nevada open meeting law requirements, the earliest a hearing could be held on whether Peterson could be licensed was Tuesday, May 15, which would have been too close to the fight for Schaefer to proceed without assurances Peterson would be licensed.

"We absolutely had the right to be informed and we were not, by several parties," Schaefer said. "Why, I don't know, but this was critical information and Golden Boy should have been informed."

In an email to Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday, Goodman wrote, "I have great admiration for Richard, but his characterization of the contractual situation is inaccurate." That followed on the heels of a statement she issued Tuesday to the Las Vegas Review-Journal in which she denied there was a requirement on VADA's part to notify anyone other than the fighter who failed the test.

VADA felt it was inappropriate for it to notify third parties of the positive test result at the time because there had been no confirmation of it. It appears as though Mr. Peterson and Mr. [Jeff] Fried, [Peterson's attorney], also chose not to notify third parties at that time in the hope that Mr. Peterson's 'B' sample would test negative. As soon as Mr. Peterson's 'B' sample tested positive, VADA notified Mr. Peterson, Mr. Fried and the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Neither Golden Boy Promotions nor HBO was a signatory to the VADA contract.

Schaefer admitted he did not have a signed contract with VADA. But he said that he had been sent a contract via email from Goodman that did include a clause requiring notification to Golden Boy.

He said that though the contract wasn't signed, "VADA performed under the contract. [It] took payment and it went forward with the testing."

He emailed Yahoo! Sports the clause pertaining to notification, though not the full contract.

Samples collected will be collected in duplicate (an "A Sample" and a "B Sample") with only the A Sample being tested unless the A Sample tests positive for a substance banned by VADA in which case GBP and the offending Athlete shall be notified so both can be present for the testing of the B Sample.

Because Peterson did not hold a Nevada license and had not applied for one, he can not be penalized, at least at the time. Unlike UFC fighter Alistair Overeem, who was denied a license last month and not allowed to re-apply for one for nine months after he failed a random drug test, Peterson had never formally requested a hearing in front of the commission. As a result, the commission has no jurisdiction over him.

However, the issue won't go away and Peterson's ability to box anywhere in the future will almost certainly be impacted by the failed test. When he applies for a license again in the future, he'll almost certainly be hauled in front of a state athletic commission to explain what led to the cancellation of the Khan fight.

Manny Pacquiao arrived in Los Angeles from the Philippines on Saturday to finish his training camp for his June 9 bout with Timothy Bradley at trainer Freddie Roach's Wild Card Boxing Club.

Pacquiao arrived just as, a couple hundred miles to the East, Floyd Mayweather Jr. stepped into the ring at the MGM Grand Garden for his bout with Miguel Cotto. Pacquiao, who resumed training on Monday, said he managed to catch a portion of the bout.

"It was a good fight and everyone was happy," Pacquiao said.

Mayweather and Pacquiao are regarded as the top two fighters in the world and boxing fans have been eager for them to get into the ring against each other. But a series of issues, notably the purse split and an agreement on a drug testing regimen, have stalled the match.

[Dan Wetzel: Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao could happen if jail time used wisely]

Mayweather defeated Cotto by a unanimous decision, winning nine rounds on two judges' cards and 10 rounds on the third. Apparently, that wasn't enough to impress Roach.

"Would Manny beat Floyd?  You bet," Roach said. "The way to beat Floyd to outwork him every minute of every round. Manny is the only one capable of executing that game plan. Activity kills Mayweather. You need to stay busy against him and not let him dictate the pace by slowing down the fight. Southpaws are his other weakness. Manny is just a bad combination for Floyd to fight. If it would bring Floyd into the ring, I'd agree to have Manny fight him right handed."

Though Mayweather hinted at retirement on Saturday, Pacquiao said he doesn't harbor the same thoughts. There had been talk he would only fight a handful more times, but he said Monday retirement isn't on his agenda.

"I still love what I'm doing," he said.

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
• Criticism of the Clippers' flopping extends to Chris Paul, Blake Griffin
• Golf Channel analyst suggests Tiger Woods fire his swing coach and return to Butch Harmon
• Ten baseball owners that fans would like to see sell their teams

May 7 is a significant day in boxing history, for good and bad reasons.

On May 7, 2005, one of the greatest fights in the sport's history occurred at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, when Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo put on an epic match in a battle for the lightweight title.

They went at each other with a fury for nine fast-paced rounds. Castillo, though, seemed on the verge of an historic victory in the 10th when he knocked Corrales down twice. Corrales' eyes were swollen almost completely shut and he was on unsteady legs when he arose after the second knockdown.

When the action resumed, Corrales landed a huge straight right that badly hurt Castillo. Always a great finisher, Corrales jumped on him and landed a series of savage blows that forced referee Tony Weeks to jump in and save Castillo. Neither man was ever nearly close to the same fighter again.

Tragically, two years to the day later, Corrales died in a motorcyle accident in the shadow of Mandalay Bay. The 2007 Suzuki 100 motorcycle he was driving at a high rate of speed crashed into the back of a Honda Accord. Corrales was thrown from the bike and was pronounced dead on the scene.

Corrales had personal demons he fought, but he was beloved in the boxing community, particularly in Las Vegas, for his cheerful, friendly nature, his willingness to help anyone and his fearlessness in the ring.

His funeral attracted a huge throng of a who's who in boxing.

Those who saw that match with Castillo will never forget it. A few days before the bout, I was walking with Corrales down a hallway in the bowels of Mandalay Bay. We were headed to an open workout, and I was taking the chance to ask him a few questions.

He was talking about the significance of the match and said "I'd walk through the fires of hell," to win the match. A couple of days later, he pretty much did exactly that.

He left a large family, but also a legacy as one of the most entertaining fighters and most engaging athletes in history.

He's gone, but never will be forgotten.

LAS VEGAS — Minutes after he defeated Miguel Cotto Saturday in one of the better all-around performances of his career, Floyd Mayweather Jr. seemed to be speaking directly to Manny Pacquiao when he addressed the feasibility of a fight between the top boxers in the world.

Essentially, what Mayweather said to Pacquiao, who arrived in Los Angeles from the Philippines on Saturday at about the very moment Mayweather was about to start his match with Cotto, was dump promoter Bob Arum and we have a fight.

It's just been a problem trying to make this fight. The fans and the public are being fooled. Bob Arum does not want to make this fight happen. Once he's free from Bob Arum, will the fight happen? Absolutely.

Pacquiao is contractually bound to Top Rank, and if he tried to make some sort of end-run, Top Rank would undoubtedly sue and the courts would prevent him from fighting until the matter was determined. That would take way longer than a guy who doesn't have much time left in the sport would want to wait, so it's almost certain that Pacquiao would not attempt to jump ship.

Mayweather has talked about fighting a second time in 2012, after he is released from a 90-day jail sentence that begins June 1. So, if it is not Pacquiao, here is an assessment of who might be under consideration, who would work and the pros and cons of each opponent:

Canelo Alvarez, WBC super welterweight champion: Alvarez is clearly being groomed by Golden Boy to become the successor to Mayweather and Pacquiao as the sport's biggest attraction. He was clearly the most popular fighter on the pay-per-view card Saturday, getting louder cheers than anyone in his fight against Shane Mosley. He's going to fight again on Sept. 15.
Pros: He's unbeaten, he's a champion, he's with Golden Boy and he's immensely popular with Hispanic fans.
Cons: He'd only be 22 at the time of a potential Mayweather fight and he's still got a ways to go to be ready for that level of competition.
Odds of landing the fight: 4-1, the leader in the clubhouse

Amir Khan, former super lightweight champion: Khan would already be at welterweight, Mayweather's best weight, if he'd taken care of business in December against Lamont Peterson. But Khan and Peterson have a rematch on May 19 for the super lightweight title in Las Vegas.
Pros: Khan brings a large following in the U.K., which will mean solid television money. Mayweather is popular in the U.K. Khan is also very athletic and has speed. Most significantly, he's with Golden Boy.
Cons: He's inconsistent and will look like a world beater one time out and then look kind of questionable the next time. He's still also not much of an attraction in the U.S. and wouldn't necessarily appeal to the large Hispanic fan base that has been critical to the sport's success.
Odds of landing the fight: 7-1, which would be lower if he beats Peterson on May 19

Sergio Martinez, middleweight champion: Martinez is No. 3 in the Yahoo! rankings and he's very athletic with an entertaining style. He hasn't been marketed particularly well, if at all, and so he hasn't developed a broad fan base. He's not a big middleweight and has already said he'd be willing to get as low as 150 pounds if it meant landing a Mayweather fight. Given that Mayweather made a point of allowing Cotto to come in at the 154-pound limit, it's likely that Mayweather would agree to meet Martinez at 154 or even at 160 for a middleweight title bout.
Pros: He's widely regarded as in the top three pound-for-pound, which will create a natural marketing hook. He's an entertaining, action fighter and he's willing to do an 80-20 purse split in favor of Mayweather.
Cons: Despite his in-ring success, he's not a big name. He's not easy for American media to reach and he doesn't speak English. He's from Argentina and hasn't found a big fan base with either Mexicans or American Hispanics.
Odds of landing the fight: 10-1

Andre Berto, welterweight: Berto is managed by Al Haymon, who guides Mayweather's career. That makes him easier to land. Berto faces Victor Ortiz on June 23 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in a rematch of an entertaining 2011 bout that was Fight of the Year in some places.
Pros: His association with Haymon, and if he beats Ortiz, he'd be coming off a big, high-profile win.
Cons: Still very unknown and not a ticket seller at all.
Odds of landing the fight: 15-1

[Related: Floyd Mayweather Jr. eschews strip club at 3 a.m. to begin training for Miguel Cotto bout]

Victor Ortiz, welterweight: Ortiz already fought Mayweather and a bizarre fight it was indeed. If he beats Berto, though, he'll undoubtedly renew his calls for a rematch.
Pros: He's known from the first Mayweather fight, he'd be coming off a win over Berto and there is a large segment that believes he was cheated the last time he met Money. He's also Golden Boy property.
Cons: He's mentally in a fog sometimes and there's little upside to Mayweather fighting him again. There are strong rumors the PPV didn't do as well as HBO and Golden Boy said it did.
Odds of landing the fight: 20-1

Kell Brook, welterweight: Brook is next-to-unknown in the U.S., but the 26-year-old from Sheffield, England, is an emerging star. He's 26-0 with 18 KOs and looks as if he's going to become a major force.
Pros: He's got talent, U.K. backing and an unbeaten record.
Cons: Hasn't faced very good competition, has no worldwide appeal and is still a developing fighter.
Odds of landing the fight: 50-1

Andre Ward, super middleweight: Ward is an Olympic gold medalist who is quickly rising up the professional pound-for-pound ranks. I think this is the man Mayweather should fight if he can't make a match with Pacquiao. Ward is considerably bigger, and so it would be a risk, and that risk would mean that a lot of people would tune in. Could Mayweather handle an unbeaten gold medalist who is that much bigger? The Mayweather haters would buy because they'd think he'd be in big trouble against such a big man. His supporters would rightly argue that a win would help cement his place in history and move up way up on the all-time rankings. Floyd would have to agree to give up a lot of weight, but Ward could probably cut to 162 in order to make the big payday.
Pros: Great talent, charismatic personality, gold medalist, squeaky clean image to play the good guy role versus Mayweather's bad guy role.
Cons: Too big, not well-known enough.
Odds of landing the fight: 50-1, though I think if Mayweather is smart, this is his play.

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
• Carpenter: Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan seems willing to work with Robert Griffin III
• Teammates prank Albert Pujols after his first homer of season
• Jay Hart: No player has been more impactful for Los Angeles Kings than Dustin Brown