Saturday night, the MGM Grand will once again play host another Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr (43-0, 26KO’s) championship fight.
Mayweather, 36, will be looking to once again stay undefeated. The task, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (31-1-1, 18KO’s) for Mayweather’s WBC welterweight world title, live on Showtime PPV.
The fight will be the first for boxing’s number-one pound-for-pound fighter since serving two months of a three-month prison sentence that started in June.
His opponent, Guerrero, 30, is coming off an impressive unanimous decision victory over Andre Berto in November to become the mandatory challenger to the WBC title.
Guerrero has fought much of his career at lower weights and has only fought above 135 pounds twice, his last two bouts.
Numbers aside, Guerrero physically appeared to be a full-sized welterweight both in his fight against Berto and at the weigh-in against Mayweather.
At the final press conference for the fight, Guerrero walked in with a head full of confidence.
“That ‘0’ has got to go. Records are made to be broken. On May 4, that record is going to be broken. He’s going to have his first loss. You better believe that because I’m ready to go. I can’t wait,” Guerrero told the press.
Much like the lead up to the Cotto fight, Mayweather was far more humble and respectful than the brash, arrogant media magnet boxing fans have come to expect.
“Obviously, Robert Guerrero has done something right to get here. He’s the best out there. I’ve pushed myself to the limit. I’ve done all I can to be the best I can be,” Mayweather told the press.
Unlike the Cotto fight, Mayweather has brought reinforcements to the corner for this Saturday in the form of former coach, father Floyd Mayweather Sr, who will be running the corner along with his brother, Roger Mayweather.
“It was an exciting fight (the Cotto fight), but I feel there are certain things my father can see that maybe Roger can’t. When you have diabetes, your vision gets bad. I can’t afford for somebody’s vision to be bad in a fight like this,” said Mayweather.
While three years ago, this bout would have appeared to be a gross mismatch; many people abide by the notion that the eight-time, five-division champion Mayweather, at 36, is in his declining years.
In recent fights, boxing’s cash cow has given no indication of slowing down in the ring and looked impressive in his most recent victory over Miguel Cotto.
Unlike the majority of Mayweather’s recent opponents, Guerrero posses the threat of a young, hungry fighter with a chance on boxing’s biggest stage.
Since coming out of retirement in 2009, every one of Mayweather’s opponents with the exception of Victor Ortiz were battle tested fighters who many people believe had seen better days.
Guerrero fights from a southpaw stance and has shown that at welterweight he can be an effective pressure fighter.
In his own right, Guerrero has won six world titles between four weight classes.
The Mayweather vs Guerrero championship bout can be seen live on Showtime PPV with coverage beginning at 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET.
Keep checking back with Ringside Report.
Follow me on Twitter @LevJackson or email me at lev-jackson[at]hotmail.com
