Bad Left Hook

Robert Guerrero is still pleading his case for a May 5 fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr, now attempting to say that Mayweather is afraid of someone with minimal career accomplishments (no offense) who has never fought over lightweight (all due respect), in a potential bout that received an incredibly negative response from those in and around boxing when it was rumored to be in the final stages of negotiation.

Here's a snip of what he said in a brief interview with David "Los Gatos" Rosenberg:

"Floyd doesn’t know me, please! That’s the oldest trick in boxing to downplay your biggest threat. It tells me everything I need to know, which means he’s going to try to avoid me like Marquez did - because he knows I’ll beat him down."

... "Canelo is too green to fight Floyd and anybody who knows boxing truly knows he is not ready. No disrespect, but he was brought up on hand-picked opponents. ... I started fighting ten round bouts by my tenth pro fight. That's what I mean by being thrown to the lions. Floyd hasn't even fought overseas. If Mayweather chooses to fight anyone else then he’s ducking his biggest challenge."

Mayweather's biggest challenge is probably Sergio Martinez, actually, and definitely isn't Robert Guerrero. I really mean this: I like Robert Guerrero and I know what he's doing here. After a career filled with unfortunate setbacks out of the ring, Guerrero is chasing that shot at glory and big money. But does he really "deserve" it?

Nah, not really. Guerrero's best wins are over Malcolm Klassen and Michael Katsidis. Alvarez's best wins over Ryan Rhodes and Alfonso Gomez really aren't much worse -- of those four guys, Katsidis is the most famous, but has no stronger a resume in reality than Rhodes or Gomez do.

The other reality -- the biggest one -- is that Alvarez is very popular and has a fanbase. He brings money to the table. Guerrero does not. Guerrero might be going to VH1 parties and hanging out with Shakira for some reason, but he's got no fanbase. Have you ever seen In the Loop? Guerrero is meat in the room at these things he's been going to. (And yes, I'm serious, his PR team sends out notices about him going to celebrity parties and minor awards shows/charity events/whatever, like it's some big deal or makes him a star.)

Robert Guerrero is a good fighter. He is far from great, far from Floyd's biggest challenge, and there's just no reasonable way to say that Mayweather is ducking him. 99% of the response to a Mayweather vs Guerrero fight was very negative. Guerrero isn't a money player or marquee name. He's never even fought over 138 pounds. Mayweather isn't ducking Guerrero. If he doesn't fight him -- and word is he won't -- it's just a surprising idea that turned out to be bunk.

By the way, Alvarez was also fighting ten-round bouts in his 10th pro outing. They weren't against good opponents, but neither were Guerrero's early 10-rounders. Also, Alvarez was 16 years old in his first ten-round fight. Guerrero was 20. As for Guerrero's extensive overseas experience, he fought and defeated Spend Abazi in Denmark. That's it.