A May 5 fight between WBC welterweight titlist Floyd Mayweather Jr and Robert Guerrero is in the final stages of negotiation, says Raymond Markarian of The Sweet Science, and the fight could be announced this week.
Guerrero and his PR team have been pushing extremely hard for the opportunity, but I'm going to be completely honest, and I mean this with legitimate respect to Robert Guerrero: I don't think anyone cares about this fight.
Guerrero (29-1-1, 18 KO) is a good fighter. He's very talented, and I think he has the frame and the size to handle a jump from 135 to 147, even considering he hasn't fought since last April.
But here are my problems:
Guerrero has nothing close to a marquee name. I'll argue a lot of points Bob Arum makes, but he's right, I believe, with the plain argument that this fight is not going to be a hot ticket.
Guerrero doesn't have a marquee win. His best wins are over Michael Katsidis and Malcolm Klassen. He can talk about how he's won titles in multiple divisions, but honestly, Guerrero has belts at 126 and 130 which were...eh, and his interim titles at 135 don't "count."
Simply put, I don't think he's deserving or ready for this fight, and I believe he's a far less interesting proposition than Canelo Alvarez, and I can guarantee the fight does much lighter business, because Guerrero not only isn't a big star, he's not a star at all.
Now, let me also say this. I truly do admire Robert Guerrero gunning for this fight, and I am entirely certain that Guerrero wants it because he thinks he can win, and because he wants to prove himself. Guerrero has had real life intervene in his career so many times that I think at 29 in March, he's ready to just put up or shut up at the top stage of the sport. Mayweather was open, Guerrero is a Golden Boy fighter who won't want "big money," and he went for the fight. If he does get it, then good for him, and best of luck to him.
But no, I don't think this is a really good fight, I don't think it's a good fight, or a pretty good fight. I believe Mayweather wants this fight because he thinks it's going to be easy.
And it might be. As good as Robert Guerrero is, we have no idea, really, just how good he is, or if he's even remotely in Mayweather's league, because he's never fought close to that level. Furthermore, coming off of a shoulder surgery, with 13 months out of the ring by the time he would step in against Floyd on May 5? Not a great idea if you're looking to book a competitive fight. A great idea if you just want a payday and almost certain victory on your way to a stint in the clink.
As much as this could eliminate Canelo Alvarez, look at it another way. Floyd wants to fight twice this year. He's said that repeatedly. So he can fight in May, with Guerrero, and save Canelo for September 15 or a November/December date.
Manny Pacquiao has of course just said that he wants Mayweather next. But as interesting as his quotes were, I don't think any of us figured it would happen on May 5. And it's not going to. What was interesting there was Manny putting it all on Arum (and Team Mayweather), but now nobody has to worry about that, because Mayweather's team is going forward without it, which you can't blame them for doing right now, because Arum made it clear he wasn't going to negotiate.
Again: This isn't official yet, and it could still wind up being Alvarez or someone else. But right now it looks as though Robert Guerrero is in the lead to land the Mayweather fight on May 5.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is thisclose to naming a foe for his May 5 scrap.
According to Raymond Markarian, writing for TheSweetScience.com, a source informed him that negotiations for a Mayweather-Guerrero bout are in their final stage.
Mayweather advisor Leonard Ellerbe had said the tussle could be announced later this week.
The 28-year-old Guerrero, a California-based boxer seen as one of the classiest battlers in the sport, has a 29-1-1 record. The left-hander has been off since April 2011, because of a left shoulder injury, which necessitated surgery. The ex-featherweight, super feather and lightweight champion has never weighed more than 138 pounds as a pro at a weigh-in, so he'll be biting off a hunk of challenge in the pound-for-pound king, who has campaigned at 140 pounds or more since 2004. The May 5 date, tied to the Cinco de Mayo weekend, would likely draw a solid crowd, as the Mexican-American Guerrero has a solid fanbase.
The 34-year-old Mayweather is looking to get a fight in and raise his record to 43-0 before he turns himself in for a no-more-than three months jail sentence. That term, set to start June 1, stems from a 2010 altercation with his ex-galpal in Las Vegas in September 2010.
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/bo...ort-floyd-mayweather-to-fight-robert-guerrero
Guerrero and his PR team have been pushing extremely hard for the opportunity, but I'm going to be completely honest, and I mean this with legitimate respect to Robert Guerrero: I don't think anyone cares about this fight.
Guerrero (29-1-1, 18 KO) is a good fighter. He's very talented, and I think he has the frame and the size to handle a jump from 135 to 147, even considering he hasn't fought since last April.
But here are my problems:
Guerrero has nothing close to a marquee name. I'll argue a lot of points Bob Arum makes, but he's right, I believe, with the plain argument that this fight is not going to be a hot ticket.
Guerrero doesn't have a marquee win. His best wins are over Michael Katsidis and Malcolm Klassen. He can talk about how he's won titles in multiple divisions, but honestly, Guerrero has belts at 126 and 130 which were...eh, and his interim titles at 135 don't "count."
Simply put, I don't think he's deserving or ready for this fight, and I believe he's a far less interesting proposition than Canelo Alvarez, and I can guarantee the fight does much lighter business, because Guerrero not only isn't a big star, he's not a star at all.
Now, let me also say this. I truly do admire Robert Guerrero gunning for this fight, and I am entirely certain that Guerrero wants it because he thinks he can win, and because he wants to prove himself. Guerrero has had real life intervene in his career so many times that I think at 29 in March, he's ready to just put up or shut up at the top stage of the sport. Mayweather was open, Guerrero is a Golden Boy fighter who won't want "big money," and he went for the fight. If he does get it, then good for him, and best of luck to him.
But no, I don't think this is a really good fight, I don't think it's a good fight, or a pretty good fight. I believe Mayweather wants this fight because he thinks it's going to be easy.
And it might be. As good as Robert Guerrero is, we have no idea, really, just how good he is, or if he's even remotely in Mayweather's league, because he's never fought close to that level. Furthermore, coming off of a shoulder surgery, with 13 months out of the ring by the time he would step in against Floyd on May 5? Not a great idea if you're looking to book a competitive fight. A great idea if you just want a payday and almost certain victory on your way to a stint in the clink.
As much as this could eliminate Canelo Alvarez, look at it another way. Floyd wants to fight twice this year. He's said that repeatedly. So he can fight in May, with Guerrero, and save Canelo for September 15 or a November/December date.
Manny Pacquiao has of course just said that he wants Mayweather next. But as interesting as his quotes were, I don't think any of us figured it would happen on May 5. And it's not going to. What was interesting there was Manny putting it all on Arum (and Team Mayweather), but now nobody has to worry about that, because Mayweather's team is going forward without it, which you can't blame them for doing right now, because Arum made it clear he wasn't going to negotiate.
Again: This isn't official yet, and it could still wind up being Alvarez or someone else. But right now it looks as though Robert Guerrero is in the lead to land the Mayweather fight on May 5.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is thisclose to naming a foe for his May 5 scrap.
According to Raymond Markarian, writing for TheSweetScience.com, a source informed him that negotiations for a Mayweather-Guerrero bout are in their final stage.
Mayweather advisor Leonard Ellerbe had said the tussle could be announced later this week.
The 28-year-old Guerrero, a California-based boxer seen as one of the classiest battlers in the sport, has a 29-1-1 record. The left-hander has been off since April 2011, because of a left shoulder injury, which necessitated surgery. The ex-featherweight, super feather and lightweight champion has never weighed more than 138 pounds as a pro at a weigh-in, so he'll be biting off a hunk of challenge in the pound-for-pound king, who has campaigned at 140 pounds or more since 2004. The May 5 date, tied to the Cinco de Mayo weekend, would likely draw a solid crowd, as the Mexican-American Guerrero has a solid fanbase.
The 34-year-old Mayweather is looking to get a fight in and raise his record to 43-0 before he turns himself in for a no-more-than three months jail sentence. That term, set to start June 1, stems from a 2010 altercation with his ex-galpal in Las Vegas in September 2010.
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/bo...ort-floyd-mayweather-to-fight-robert-guerrero
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