There is plenty to talk about in boxing at the moment from Andy Lee's world title win to the (still) potential prospect of that long-awaited match-up between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather next year.

Plus there is Amir Khan who has won his two fights this year and is making noises about battling Mayweather.

We were joined by ESPN boxing corresponding Dan Rafael to bring some perspective to those stories with 2015 on the horizon.

First on Ireland's new world champion Lee, Rafael believes the nature of the victory over Matt Korobov puts the Limerick man in the bracket to take on any of the big name middleweight contenders.

"Andy Lee by winning the title and getting a great knockout in a big show, puts himself in the picture for any of those types of fights and all those elite guys," he said. 

As for Khan in the welterweight ranks, Rafael thinks beating Devon Alexander at the weekend will give him a better chance of getting the fight he wants.

"If Mayweather-Pacquiao doesn't happen next - which I don't think it will - Amir Khan is probably the next opponent for Mayweather."

Mayweather and Pacquiao have been in negotiations about what would be one of the biggest fight of them all, amid lower pay-per-view numbers for both fighters.

Rafael has no doubts that Pacquiao definitely wants the fight to happen, but that "the issue is on the Mayweather side" with the American wanting to have the fight on his terms.