Manny Pacquiao's Next Fight: Floyd Mayweather Jr.? Timothy Bradley? Looking At Potential Opponents After Defeating Brandon Rios

Manny Pacquiao may have thrust himself back into boxing relevance after Saturday night's dominating win over Brandon Rios. Remember when there was all that hype over a possible Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Pacquiao fight? With last night's impressive win, will that hype for a "dream fight" start up again? Unfortunately even if it does happen, it will never be the same "dream fight" that it would have been three years ago when the fight should have happened. However, there are still a number of impressive opponents Pacquiao could step into the ring with next.

No question about it, Pacquiao dominated Rios Saturday night and looked like his old self. However, Rios is no Mayweather. And Pacquiao will never be able to get back those two losses prior to the Rios decision that seemed to further hurt the allure of a possible Mayweather fight. Still, with boxing still clamoring for star power, a Pacquiao and Mayweather fight would still be a "dream fight" for many fans.

Two other possible opponents for Pacquaio are Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez, the two fighters Pacquaio lost to prior to the Rios fight. What better way to prove a fight against Mayweather would still be a "dream fight" then defeating one of the fighters who recently beat Pacquaio? Sure Pacquaio looked impressive against Rios, but there are still plenty of people doubting that Pacquaio is the same fighter he was three years ago.

A fight against Marquez would be their fifth, in what is arguably Pacquaio's greatest rivalry over his storied career. A fight against Bradley, who is undefeated, would give Pacquaio a chance to unseat one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world while also giving fans a follow up to their controversial fight last year.

One name fans may not have heard of much, but is a rising star is the 29-year-old Ruslan Provodnikov. Provodnikov is 32-2 with 16 KO's and is the titleholder at 140 pounds. Although he lost to Timothy Bradley earlier this year he brought him to the brink in what was widely considered the fight of the year. One big road block going into the fight would be that Freddie Roach trains both men. So something would have to give.