Robert Guerrero’s fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 4 will go on as planned, even after Guerrero was arrested March 28 on gun charges at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Guerrero, a born-and-raised Gilroy native who still lives in his hometown, was arraigned later March 28 on a four-count criminal complaint charging him with one count of criminal possession of a firearm and three counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, according to the Queens County District Attorney’s office. One day after celebrating his 30th birthday, Guerrero had been arrested and charged with illegally traveling with an unloaded pistol and three unloaded high-capacity bullet magazines.
But Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, said Tuesday that he doesn’t anticipate Guerrero being distracted as the interim WBC welterweight champion trains in Las Vegas for the fight of his life.
“Based on the conversations I had with him, it happened, it passed. He knows the importance of this fight for him,” Schaefer said. “I don’t think he’s going to let a thing like this distract him.”
Guerrero’s court date is May 14.
The weapon, a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber gun, is registered to Guerrero in California, according to Kevin Ryan, director of communications for the Queens County District Attorney’s office. However, the gun is not registered in New York, which is among the toughest states in the country on gun laws. Guerrero could face up to seven years in prison if convicted, according to the Queens County District Attorney’s office.
Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KOs) will face pound-for-pound king Mayweather (43-0, 26 KOs) for Mayweather’s WBC welterweight title May 4 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The fight will be televised on Showtime Pay Per View.
The bout never appeared to be in jeopardy, as a joint statement issued the day of the arrest by Team Guerrero, Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions indicated the event would go on as planned.
Guerrero has been silent on the issue. Multiple phone calls and messages from the Dispatch to Guerrero’s camp seeking comment from the six-time, four-division world champion have gone without a response.
Asked Monday via text message if Guerrero could say anything about the arrest in his own words, Team Guerrero publicist Mario Serrano replied, “Not now.”
Usually active on Twitter, Guerrero has limited his tweets in recent days to Easter greetings and encouraging his followers to watch “The Bible” television show on History.
Schaefer said Tuesday that Guerrero traveled with the gun last week because the Gilroy fighter meant to use it at a Las Vegas shooting range as a hobby.
“Robert’s hobby is to shoot guns at the shooting range,” Schaefer said. “He was planning to take the gun with him to Las Vegas and do that at one of the shooting ranges there. There were no bad intentions. Those who know Robert know the kind of values and what he stands for.
“The fact that he had disclosed the guns, (had) no ammunition, all of those aspects clearly show that this was an innocent incident.”
The New York Post cited a police report stating that Guerrero had the weapon for a “photo op” because the “media knows he is a hunter.” Asked Tuesday if there was any truth to the photo-op rumors, Schaefer said: “That’s not what I understand.”
Schaefer said Guerrero will be ready for his day in court, but also for his day in the ring.
“I talked to him as soon as he was released,” Schaefer said. “I had a very nice conversation with him. I told him to focus on the task ahead.
“The fact is, he didn’t mean to do any harm or do anything wrong. He has a clear conscience and knows when he has his chance to tell the judge what happened, he will be OK. While he’s not taking it lightly, he knows where his focus has to be, and his focus will be on the fight.”
