By Chris Robinson
On Tuesday afternoon, interim WBC welterweight champion Robert Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KO’s) played host to the media inside of the IBA Gym in Las Vegas ahead of his May 4 encounter with pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather at the MGM Grand.
And while Guerrero didn’t put forth a full-fledged workout, he instead chose to field more questions from the press as he shadowboxed in the center of the ring towards the end of his media day.
I asked Guerrero for his thoughts on his face off with Mayweather that aired last month. Watched by millions online after the video went viral, Mayweather could be seen verbally taunting Guerrero, obviously looking to get some kind of rise out of him.
Instead, Guerrero simply laughed and brushed off Mayweather’s talk. I asked “The Ghost” why exactly he didn’t get back in Floyd’s face and he gave me his reasoning.
“What’s the point of arguing with him and the whole crowd?” asked Guerrero. “It’s part of his tactic of breaking somebody down mentally. That’s why I laughed it off. As soon as he started, I said ‘Here we go.’ I knew it was coming.”
Moments later, FightHub’s Marcos Villegas asked Guerrero what would happen if Mayweather were to put his hands on him at their forthcoming weigh-in like he did with Victor Ortiz back in September of 2011.
“If he’s touching, I’m going,” Guerrero stated, admitted that another side of him would come out. “If you’re going to touch me, I’m going to fire away. Whether it’s a press conference, a weigh-in, or wherever. Nobody’s going to lay their hands on me.”
Guerrero was later asked if he had any true feelings of disdain towards Mayweather but he denied as much.
“No,” answered Guerrero. “We’re sportsmen and I know its part of his game. When you get mad and you start disliking somebody, that’s when everything starts going out the window. There’s no point of disliking the guy. After the fight, I’m going to shake his hand.”
