By Jake Donovan
Barring a complete physical shutdown from one or both fighters, there should be little drama at the scales this Friday in San Jose.
The Showtime-televised main event between Selcuk Aydin and Robert Guerrero carries title fight implications, with Aydin’s interim WBC welterweight belt at stake. As silly as interim titles are (most titles, these days), one benefit of a fight sanctioned by the WBC is the safety weight checks conducted both 30 days and 7 days prior to fight night.
Aydin’s camp released news over the weekend of the unbeaten Turk already at 149 lb. as of Saturday, well within the 154 lb. maximum allowed one week out for any WBC-sanctioned welterweight fight.
Handlers for Guerrero (29-1-1, 18KO) weren’t quite as forthcoming in releasing their fighter’s info, but the WBC has confirmed to Boxingscene.com that both fighters are very much on target.
“The 7-day weight of Robert Guerrero is within the safety limit,” stated William Boodhoo, WBC Director of Security Program for Boxers and who also serves as a referee and judge. “Guerrero weighed 151 lb, as certified by Dr. Joseph C. Barbera.”
The bout marks the welterweight debut for Guerrero, who moves up two weight classes for what will be his first fight in 15 months. The Bay Area star fights at home for the first time in more than two years. A planned showdown with Marcos Maidana was to take place at this very venue last August, only for Guerrero to be forced to pull out due to injury.
Aydin (23-0, 17KO) fights for just the second time in the United States, winning a split decision over Said Ouali in his lone stateside appearance more than three years ago. He represents Guerrero’s biggest challenge to date, at least in size.
Guerrero has won titles at featherweight and super featherweight. His last ring appearance – a win over Michael Katsidis last April – netted the Californian an interim belt at lightweight, though the stint was one-and-done as he was already preparing to move up in weight.
The winner of Saturday’s main event will become the mandatory challenger to Floyd Mayweather Jr, who is set to be released from prison in early August. Guerrero’s press agents spent the better part of the past year unmercifully calling out Mayweather. While the fight didn’t happen, many credited Guerrero’s publicists with drumming up that much more interest for his own ring return this weekend.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
