Robert Guerrero has a deep appreciation for the history of boxing, considering himself a “student of the game.”
As the Gilroy native prepares to leave his hometown for training camp in Las Vegas, he’s done plenty of studying. And Guerrero sees flaws in Floyd Mayweather Jr. that the interim WBC welterweight champion feels he can exploit.
“There are a lot of things we see on film, a lot of things we see Floyd doing he’s never done before,” Guerrero said Thursday. “There are a lot of eye-openers, especially being a student of the game, watching fights, you see things that catch your eye that you can capitalize on.”
Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KOs) will face pound-for-pound king Mayweather (43-0, 26 KOs) on May 4 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The fight will be televised on Showtime Pay Per View.
Guerrero met with the media at his gym in Gilroy before a workout Thursday, less than a week after a Showtime video surfaced on the Internet showing a heated exchange between the two fighters as part of a “toe-to-toe” Showtime promotional event.
On Thursday, Guerrero did not go into specifics of his plan to attack Mayweather. But the 29-year-old southpaw from Gilroy reiterated earlier claims that he sees some decline in Mayweather, 36.
“You can see the early Floyd and the Floyd now, and how it changes,” Guerrero said. “It takes a very smart fighter to be able to recognize stuff like that.”
Guerrero retained his interim WBC welterweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Andre Berto in Ontario, Calif., on Nov. 24. The Guerrero-Mayweather fight became a done deal Feb. 19, when Mayweather’s camp announced a record six-fight deal with Showtime.
“This is a history-making fight,” Guerrero said. “As far as legacy in boxing, I’ll go down in history as the guy who beat Floyd Mayweather, the guy who shattered his undefeated career.”
An exact date for Guerrero’s departure from Gilroy isn’t certain, but he expects to be settled in his Las Vegas training camp within two weeks.
Check next week’s Gilroy Dispatch for a feature, photo gallery and commentary on the Guerrero-Mayweather bout.
