Monday 21 March 2016 10:08, UK
Floyd Mayweather is enjoying life in the Las Vegas mansion that acts as his retirement home, so what's next for the welterweight division he reigned over?
We don't know if the 49-0 superstar will ever wrap his hands and return to the ring but competition for the 147lbs title is as fierce as ever and English pair Kell Brook and Amir Khan are at the heart of the discussion.
Sky Sports have assessed the next fights for the major championships…
The ultimate goal remains the elusive all-British scrap against Khan (31-3-KO19). The fighters traded blows across Twitter last Friday as tensions boiled over with a bout agreement still lacking signatures. Khan had tweeted that a 50-50 split of a potential purse was "unrealistic" before Brook's promoter Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports News HQ that he was still firmly at the negotiating table to arrange the fight. Common sense must eventually prevail so the finger-pointing can make way for the trading of punches.
Brook is certainly not stuck in a position where he must justify himself as a world champion, having fought abroad for just the second time to take Shawn Porter's IBF belt and unbeaten record in 2014. The Sheffield fighter's next bout is on March 26 in his hometown against Canada's Kevin Bizier (25-2-KO17), the mandatory challenger Brook must use as a hurdle towards more glamorous occasions.
Diego Chaves (23-2-1-KO19) is ranked 10th by the IBF - Brook withdrew injured from fighting the Argentine in October but might now view him as water under the bridge. The IBF champion could fancy revisiting a mooted clash against Brandon Rios (33-3-1-KO24), last seen losing to Timothy Bradley in November, but the focus will be on arranging a summer stadium fight against Khan.
Not even 'The Ghost' could spook Garcia as he outpointed Robert Guerrero at the weekend to claim the vacant strap. Interestingly Garcia now finds himself as a roadblock to Brook v Khan, years after he thought his dealings with the latter were finished.
In 2012, Garcia inflicted a crushing knockout on Khan in a WBC light-welterweight title fight - three-and-a-half years on, the Englishman is the mandatory challenger to the American's new belt. Khan has already shown willingness to erase the demons of their first match-up, which left him at a significant career crossroads that he has negotiated excellently. Garcia, however, isn't so sure.
"There are bigger things in life," Garcia's father told Behind The Gloves. "Old things out, new things in". So who could Garcia box in his first WBC title defence? The rankings are littered with experienced threats including Brook's old foe Porter (26-1-1-KO16) at No 3. Lamont Peterson (34-3-1-KO17), ranked fourth, has beaten Khan but already lost to Garcia as recently as April, while Mayweather's 49th opponent Andre Berto (30-4-KO23) is fifth.
The man who labelled himself 'One-Time' for his ability to deal with opponents with a single punch has seen his knockout ratio decrease in the past couple of years as world titles came into the mix. But he has never been beaten and, in 2015, added the respected names of Robert Guerrero and Luis Collazo to his list of conquests.
Thurman will put his WBA gold on the line against Porter in June, and in doing so has temporarily removed himself from opposing Khan or Brook, however unlikely that may have been. America's rising champion with a perfect record mirrors Brook but their respective organisations are unlikely to roll the dice and put them in together.
Khan is ranked as the second contender to the WBA title and, should he target a young and dangerous KO artist, would silence many of his critics. Garcia is third while 44-year-old Shane Mosley (49-9-1-KO41) is ranked at No 5 - an interesting proposition although he is likelier to challenge Liverpool's Liam Smith for WBO light-middleweight honours. That leaves David Avanesyan (21-1-1-KO11), the Russian who has flown under the radar as interim champion - the WBA could fancy solidifying one title-holder by pitting him against Thurman.
Now in his second reign as WBO champion, Bradley got the nod to be Manny Pacquiao's final opponent before the Filipino legend brings down the curtain on his career. The rubber match could be another impressive feather in Bradley's cap.
Still just 32 he has held light-welterweight titles with the WBC and WBO but sending Pacquiao (57-6-2-KO38) packing into retirement could be his most memorable achievement. In 2012 the Californian controversially got the nod in his first fight with Pacquiao, a split decision so disputed that a rematch was ordered which the Filipino duly won. April's trilogy fight is centred around a fairytale ending for Pac Man but Bradley is capable of spoiling the script.
Having defeated Ruslan Provodnikov, Juan Manuel Marquez and Brandon Rios in the past three years, Bradley shouldn't be seen as a champion with a bullseye on his chest. Khan is ranked third by the WBO yet their paths have rarely threatened to cross. Sadam Ali (22-1-KO13) had looked like a serious contender before being stopped in nine by Jessie Vargas (27-1-KO10), who lost on points to Bradley in controversial circumstances last June.
Meanwhile, Terence Crawford (27-0-KO19) appears to value friendship above a potential fight. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has reportedly wanted to make Bradley against WBO junior-welterweight champion Crawford but their personal relationship has been the stumbling block.
Now, are we likely to see such friendship between England's welterweight rivals?
