Why Guerrero Isn’t Such a Long Shot Against Mayweather

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    I began hearing rumblings of a possible Guerrero/Mayweather match up about two years ago, when Guerrero’s publicist, Mario Serrano, would try to sell this fight to anyone who would listen. I, like most of the boxing community, brushed off the idea of Guerrero moving up two weight divisions, from lightweight to welterweight, to take on the pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. And even if by some stretch of the imagination, the fight would’ve been made, there was no way I would’ve given Robert Guerrero a chance. Well, two years later, the match has been made and I’m not so sure “The Ghost” is such a long shot.

    Robert Guerrero is possibly one of the most underrated multi-divisional champions there is in boxing today. And in his most recent fights, specifically his two at welterweight, he’s been fighting with that a chip on his shoulder. He’s been displaying a rougher, tougher, and just plain meaner style than the Guerrero of old. He has been a Robert Guerrero coming to win and not just to pick up a paycheck.

    Having started his career at featherweight, the Gilroy, California native will be the naturally smaller fighter against Mayweather. However, size didn’t matter in his matches with the bigger Selcuk Aydin, and Andre Berto. Robert was able to not only take the harder punches but also bully those guys around the ring; something many believe is the formula to defeating Mayweather.

    There aren’t many secrets on Floyd Mayweather’s style. We all know he’s a mover, a supreme counter puncher, his defense is second to none, and his punches are perfectly timed making him the most accurate fighter in the entire sport. With that said, Mayweather is getting older, and has been extremely inactive, fighting only once a year for the last four years. While Mayweather has shown his inactivity to not to be a problem in his most ‘recent’ fights, father time will eventually catch up to you, and on May 4th we’ll see if father time finally does catch up to Floyd Mayweather Jr.

    Money Mayweather has always claimed that there is no blueprint on how to beat him. Yet, many believe that Jose Luis Castillo laid out the blueprint in their first fight all the way back in 2002; Pressure. Since then, many fighters have tried to implement that same game plan and make Mayweather fight. Floyd has always been able to use his superior footwork to avoid getting in trouble and also set up his offense, most notably, his knock out victory over Ricky Hatton, spotlighted by a check left hook knockdown. Others also believe Mayweather has trouble with southpaws; having been rocked by DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley and Zab “Super” Judah, both southpaws.

    Robert Guerrero is a southpaw, and judging from his recent fights, he will also be the aggressor. That, combined with Floyd’s recent lack of footwork, could be a perfect cocktail for a bad night for Mayweather.

    Guerrero will want to put Mayweather against the ropes, bury his head in Floyd’s chest and just throw punches. He has to make it an ugly fight and steal rounds. With that said, Mayweather isn’t scared to be up against the ropes, he almost prefers it. His Philly shell style will open Guerrero up for sneaky rights and uppercuts, punches that Guerrero has shown to be vulnerable to in both the Aydin and Berto fights. We’ve learned though, that he can stand up to those shots.

    Floyd Mayweather should keep the fight at a distance and in the middle of the ring where he can land his trademark lead left hooks and lead straight right hands. Guerrero is not fast enough to complete with him there. If Floyd can keep him in the center of the ring it’ll be an easy night.

    However, I highly doubt Robert worked his way up this point to allow himself to be pot-shotted all night. He will make this an ugly fight, bully Floyd, make Floyd fight and try to seize the moment.

    So, does Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero have a legitimate chance on May 4th? The answer is, YES.