By Chris Robinson
Whether you love him or loathe him, you must admit that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has a way of making the headlines unlike anybody else in the sport.
With the recent news that the 34-year old Mayweather’s impending 90-day jail sentence has been pushed back to June, the Las Vegas-based superstar is now free to pursue the May 5th date that had been set aside for him at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
While a fight with Manny Pacquiao remains the most lucrative and appealing to the fans, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum already has four select opponents for Pacquiao to choose from, thus making such a scenario unlikely at this point. Two of the names having risen to the surface to fill the ‘TBA’ now attached to Mayweather are that of Mexican star and junior middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and former champion Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero.
At just 21 years old, Alvarez may still be green but he has tremendous star appeal and would be a bigger, fresher, stronger opponent with much upside. It is only when one hears Guerrero’s name in the mix that things get a little unclear.
Sure, Guerrero is an excellent fighter and even a great person outside of the ring. But the fact that he hasn’t had any true success above 135 pounds during his ten-plus years as a professional has raised some concern to many connected to the sport.
When I reached out to veteran HBO analyst Larry Merchant to get his take on the recent turn of events, he pointed out that he honestly hasn’t been taken aback by the Gilroy, California fighter in recent times.
“He hasn’t fought very much, for one reason or another, the last couple of years,” Merchant stated. “Am I wrong about that?”
When informed of Guerrero’s most impressive win in his past few fights, a unanimous decision that saw him carve up Michael Katsidis in Las Vegas last April, Merchant seemed to get befuddled a bit.
“And who is Katsidis? Is that a recognizable opponent? Who is the top fighter he has beaten?” Merchant asked of the rugged Australian pug.
I could tell that Merchant wasn’t trying to knock Guerrero, but it’s obvious he simply wants to see Mayweather in with a more recognizeable name at this point in his career.
“Somebody will have to enlighten me about why his name is even out there,” said Merchant of Guerrero. “I don’t get it, except the fact that he’s a Golden Boy fighter and he wants a big fight like a lot of fighters do. Nobody blames them for that. But he’s never been a primetime attraction, much less a pay-per-view attraction. I think he has to go out and beat somebody who has some credentials before fighting a top fighter.”
Expect more from Merchant tomorrow as he weighs in on the next logical move for both Mayweather and Pacquiao in-depth…
