By Jake Donovan

Where's Sherlock Holmes when you need him?

It's been a familiar formula the past two years. Match up Joan Guzman with a Scot boxer, and tall tales are soon spun on the other side of the pond.

Perhaps the Loch Ness Monster was Dominican.

It was roughly 75 years ago, when monster fever ran rampant throughout Scotland, with multiple alleged sightings being reported throughout the nation, of an abnormally-sized creature inhabiting Loch Ness. Reports were never confirmed, but it never stopped the Scottish press from reporting on it all the same.

The tradition in their media continues through today, where boxers and boxing personalities are free to make remarks on a whim, and have their thoughts printed verbatim in their local tabloids. It occurred two weeks ago, when BoxingScene.com was forced to tear to shreds an article from UK-based publication The Scotsman alleging that undefeated Dominican junior lightweight Joan Guzman was running scared from Scotland's Alex Arthur.

That same publication is once again back at it, where something as simple as celebrating a winning purse bid has now begun the war of words and false accusations.

With a winning bid of $280,000 US, Frank Warren's Sports Network promotional company won the right to promote the WBO-ordered bout between Guzman, their junior lightweight champion, and interim titlist Arthur. Only now it seems some on that side of the pond are still attempting to paint a picture that has Guzman leaving everyone high and dry.

Peter Harrison, father and trainer of troubled featherweight Scott Harrison, "warned" Team Arthur that just because the purse bid was set, that the fight wasn't yet official. He also referenced his own first-hand experience in dealing with Guzman.  The exact quote, which went completely unchecked by The Scotsman, read as follows:

"Guzman was twice linked by Frank Warren to fight my son in title fights and he twice ran out on Frank and Scott, so I really wonder if he will ever go through with a fight with Alex Arthur.''

It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes – or even Katie Holmes – to detect the gaping holes in that story. The only truth behind it is the fact that Guzman was once scheduled to fight Harrison.

The spin from Scotland's boxing yard was that Guzman repeatedly sought ways out of the fight before backing out in early 2006, with the most common rumor citing struggles to make weight. Hey, if their ancestors believed a 25-ft monster once occupied their waters, why not float this one out there as well.

The real troubles behind the aborted Harrison-Guzman match-up began and ended with Harrison himself. Unless you want to believe that Guzman was solely to blame for:

-          An October 1, 2005 Scott Harrison optional featherweight defense (versus Nedal Hussein) being postponed five weeks after Harrison suffered a recurring injury during training camp

-          Harrison's mandatory defense against Guzman being pushed back from late January to late March as a result of the aforementioned injury

-          The Harrison-Guzman bout being postponed from March 25, 2006 to mid-May after yet another Harrison injury.

Where the Guzman-fight-ditching allegations come into play was his becoming so fed up with the waiting game, that he instead agreed to a promotional deal with Golden Boy Promotions, landing a co-feature slot on a May 2006 HBO PPV headlined by the return of Oscar de la Hoya.

If we are to believe Peter Harrison or anything printed in The Scotsman, then Guzman is also to blame for Harrison:

-          Canceling his scheduled May 2006 title defense against late replacement Gairy St. Clair, after suffering yet another training camp injury and also getting arrested twice within a month.

-          Getting arrested for assault and auto theft in Spain in October 2006, during training camp for a scheduled December 9, 2006 defense against Nicky Cook.

-          Showing up overweight for said defense, causing the fight to be cancelled

-          Being stripped of the WBO featherweight title, after failing to comply with the sanctioning body's order to make a title defense within 180 days of his May '06 injury.

-          The British Board of Boxing suspending his license after Harrison was a no show for a January 2007 tribunal.

-          Once again getting arrested in Spain, this time in May 2007 after a fight in a brothel

-          Not fighting since October 2005, instead struggling to battle alcoholism

-          Being forced to file for bankruptcy after being charged by HM Revenue and Customs for failure to pay taxes

Still a believer? Then you must also put stock in Alex Arthur's claim that everything changed once Guzman decided he was not going to vacate his alphabet title for a move to lightweight. Guzman was so determined to bolt to lightweight and avoid Arthur at all costs that:

-          He and his handlers begged Golden Boy Promotions (who still represented Guzman prior to the purse bid result) to strike a deal with Frank Warren for the sake of expediting contract negotiations

-          Manager Jose Nunez demanded that the WBO order a purse bid so they could scheduled their fight with Arthur before subsequently mapping out their future

-          Nunez repeatedly insisted to anyone who would listen that nothing else was on Guzman's plate before they were able to get past Alex Arthur

-          It was Team Arthur who stalled negotiations, while rumors running rampant of instead possibly facing countryman Harrison (should he ever regain his license, and make it through a full training camp free of injury or arrest) or treading water in anticipation of a future bout with rising star Amir Khan

Yet here we are, with Guzman still a junior lightweight titlist beginning training camp and gearing up for an April trip to Scotland to defend against Arthur. 

It's elementary, my dear Watson. The facts don't lie, even if Scottish boxers do.

Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His feature column runs every Tuesday, and his Prospect of the Week series runs every Thursday. Jake is also BoxingScene's official Telefutura correspondent.

Please feel free to submit any comments or questions to Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.