Robert Guerrero: It’ll be shocking

Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero and Floyd Mayweather Jr. made their arrivals Tuesday at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where Saturday they will tangle for Mayweather’s welterweight championship (on Showtime pay-per-view).

Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KOs), who has been speaking in supremely confident tones during the promotion, was no different Tuesday.

“My belief is that I’m going to go in there and beat him down on May 4,” Guerrero said. “He should just worry about getting ready for the rematch at this  point. Be ready to be shocked.”

Mayweather is 43-0 with 26 knockouts, so that speaks for itself. He said a lot in a few sentences.

“The camp that we had this time has been tremendous,” said Mayweather, who will not have fought for a year when he steps into the ring Saturday. “I’m ready to go out there and perform. My body looks a lot better. It probably looks the best it has ever looked. … This camp has been the best camp of my career.”

 

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Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer stoked

Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya’s company, is coming off a big weekend. It  held a card in England, where Amir Khan defeated Julio Diaz in the junior welterweight main event. It staged another big event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where Danny Garcia retained his junior welterweight belts with a win over Zab Judah.

Then this Saturday, Golden Boy will promote the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero welterweight title fight at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (on Showtime pay-per-view). (Mayweather Promotions is on the bill as co-promoter).

Golden Boy has become one of the top two boxing promotional companies in the world – Top Rank Inc. is the other – and CEO Richard Schaefer is stoked about the way De La Hoya’s Los Angeles-based company is doing.

“Especially in Los Angeles,” Schaefer said Tuesday. “Besides the Dodgers, Lakers, Clippers and Kings, I think we are like the big franchise, and it’s amazing how well we are doing.”

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Manny Pacquiao in CNN documentary

Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines will be part of a two-hour CNN documentary centering on modern-day slavery in his native land.

Entitled, “The Fighters,” the documentary will include Philippine human rights activist Cecilia Flores-Oebanda.

Pacquiao, who one day figures to be a first-ballot International Boxing Hall of Fame selection, is a congressman in the Philippines.

The documentary will be shown in two parts – on May 17 and May 18.

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Sergio Martinez banged up in win

Sergio Martinez, one of the middleweight world champions, likely won’t fight for the rest of this year because of injuries sustained in his title defense against Martin Murray this past Saturday, his promoter told ESPN.com.

Martinez retained his belt with a unanimous decision over Murray, of England, in Martinez’s native Argentina. Promoter Lou DiBella said Martinez came out of it with an injured right knee, a broken left hand and a cut over his left eye.

“He’s probably out for the rest of the year,” DiBella told ESPN.com. “I just can’t see him returning this year. He probably needs another surgery to remove scar tissue from the knee and he needs more time to rehab it than he gave it after the Chavez fight.”

Martinez suffered an  injury to the same knee in his victory over then-middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in September 2012 in Las Vegas.

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Will layoff hurt Floyd Mayweather Jr.?

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has fought only four times since coming out of a near-two-year retirement with a September 2009 fight against Juan Manuel Marquez. That’s four fights in more than 3 1/2 years. Moreover, when Mayweather squares defends his welterweight title against Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero on Saturday at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (on Showtime pay-per-view), it will be a  year almost to the day since his most recent fight – against Miguel Cotto at MGM Grand.

Guerrero wonders if the inactivity is finally going to catch up to Mayweather.

“… Floyd Mayweather having a year off and being in jail and stuff like that, it takes a toll on you,” Guerrero said. “No matter what you do, you do have a little ring rust. It’s different from training and sparring, then getting in the fight, so that ring rust is always there until you actually get in that ring and shake it off.”

Mayweather (43-0, 26 KOs) spent two months in Clark County Detention Center after his May 5 bout with Cotto for a domestic abuse conviction.

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Sergio Martinez finds Martin Murry no joke

From a variety of reports, it sounds like middleweight champion Sergio Matinez had all he could handle in England’s Martin Murray in their title fight Saturday in Martinez’s native Argentina.

Martinez won by three scores of 115-112, but he was knocked down in the eighth round. According to an Associated Press story on the fight, knockdowns of Martinez could have been counted in the 10th and 11th rounds, but were ruled slips by referee Massimo Barrovechio.

Martinez, 38, is 51-2-2. Murray, 30, is 25-1-1.

 

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Danny Garcia holds off Zab Judah

In case you missed it on the tube, Danny Garcia of Philadelphia retained his two junior welterweight titles with a unanimous decision over Zab Judah in the main event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Garcia scored a knockdown in the eighth round and won by scores of 116-111, 115-112 and 114-112. Judah distinguished himself well, however, scoring several times in the championship rounds.

Garcia, 25, is now 26-0. Judah, of Brooklyn, is 35. The left-hander is 42-8.

 

 

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Oscar Molina needs just 55 seconds

Oscar Molina seems to be getting better with each fight. Molina, of Norwalk, took only 55 seconds to dispatch Jose Martell of Phoenix, nailing him with a double left hook – body then head. Molina, a 2012 Olympian for Mexico, is now 5-0 with four knockouts. Their super welterweight bout on the undercard of Chris Arreola-Bermane Stiverne at Citizens Business Bank Arena was scheduled for four rounds.
Martell (2-8) does not have a good record. Nevertheless, Molina appears to be the real deal.

Molina’s twin brother, Javier, boxed for Team USA in 2008 Olympic Games.

 

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Juan Funez stops Christian Cartier in the second

Juan Funez of Van Nuys is now 2-0 after stopping Christian Cartier at 1:14 of the second round of their featherweight bout slated for four rounds.

Funez, 2-0 with one knockout, was all over Cartier in the second round, the referee stepping in and stopping the bout as Funez was battering Cartier, who was making his pro debut.

They tangled on the undercard of Chris Arreola-Bermane Stiverne at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontarios.

 

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