It has been almost one year since Floyd Mayweather last stepped into the ring. He has not fought since May 5, 2012 when he defeated Miguel Cotto at the MGM in Las Vegas, NV. Since that time, Floyd served a 90 day jail sentence in Clark County Jail that began on June 1, 2012 for a misdemeanor Domestic Violence Assault charge from 2010 involving his exgirlfriend. He was subsequently released early for good behavior on August 3, 2012.
The year also involved a dissolved friendship and business relationship with his best friend, rap mogul 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson), who is also trying to make some noise as a boxing promoter similar to Floyd. To add more drama to the year for Mayweather, he ended a longstanding and successful relationship with HBO and signed a multiple fight contract with Showtime which begins on May 4, 2013 for his welterweight title bout against Robert Guerrero.
Robert Guerrero is coming off the biggest win of his career against Andre Berto in a fight Guerrero physically abused Berto and won a unanimous decision on November 24, 2012. In that fight, Guerrero looked to be the bigger and more physical fighter, constantly battering Berto along the ropes. Don’t look for Mayweather to give the determined Mexican fighter that chance in this one. First of all, Floyd is no stranger to the big stage and he is fighting in his backyard at the MGM in Las Vegas as usual. What makes Mayweather great is his ability to adapt in every fight, both offensively and defensively. Even with a year off from fighting, Mayweather will frustrate Guerrero and make himself hard to hit; similar to what he did against Victor Ortiz in September 2011.
This is not to say that Guerrero is not a good or tough fighter. He is just not good enough to beat Floyd Mayweather, who is boxing’s best and and a multi-million dollar megastar. It will take a megastar to beat a megastar, even if it’s a one from another country (see Canelo Alvarez). The fight coming up on Aprl 20 between Canelo Alvarez and Austin Trout in San Antonio, TX will be a true measuring stick to see if someone can truly challenge Mayweather before he decides to hang up the gloves. If Alvarez is impressive against Trout, who is no slouch by any means, then look for talk of a super fight to begin between the Mexican star in Alvarez and Mayweather; talk similar to that of the fallen bout between Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio.
Nevertheless, come May 4, fighting Robert Guerrero will be just another day at the office for Mayweather who looks to improve to 44-0 in defense of his WBC Welterweight title.