By Jake Donovan
Selcuk Aydin doesn’t seem to be enjoying his stay in the United States in preparation of his Showtime-televised showdown with Robert Guerrero next Saturday in his opponent’s hometown of San Jose, CA.
The unbeaten welterweight was asked to participate in a media conference call to help promote the fight and also draw more attention to his own career, which has flown largely under the radar to date. Aydin has spent the majority of his career in his adopted Germany homeland, with the occasional stop in his native Turkey.
Next weekend’s alphabet title fight (of sorts) with Guerrero marks just his second to take place in the United States. His lone stateside appearance came more than three years ago, when he outpointed Said Ouali in a fight that also doubled as his Showtime debut.
Aydin (23-0, 17KO) has plenty to say through his press agents, but has sheltered himself from civilization since arriving stateside to prepare for his bout with Guerrero. The line of thinking is that he wants to focus solely on Guerrero, though he also seems displeased with the lack of attention he has received from the media.
“I’ve been here in a hotel room secluded from the public. The only time I come out is to train for this fight,” Aydin said through a translator during the media conference call. The statement itself contradicts his claim that he’s being ignored; if anything, it helps explain why there has been such little media coverage of the welterweight contender.
Meanwhile, there has been plenty of press on Guerrero (29-1-1, 18KO), who returns to the ring following a 15-month absence which included a stint in physical therapy to repair an injured left shoulder. With the fight taking place in his hometown, Guerrero is expected to make the majority of the headlines. The fact that Aydin has chosen to not make himself accessible only further skews the press ratio heavily in his opponent’s favor.
The slew of interviews for the former titlist in two weight classes (and an interim reign at lightweight) hasn’t at all impressed Aydin, who sees the July 28 fight as the perfect opportunity to have final say.
“Robert speaks like a politician,” Aydin insists. “He needs to work on strengthening his jaw because I’m going to break it.”
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
