By Kirk Jackson
As it stands now, Robert Guerrero, the “Ghost” from Gilroy, is a couple months removed from his 12-round unanimous decision defeat against Floyd Mayweather.
Despite putting on a gallant effort, Mayweather exterminated the “Ghost” and showed why he is a Hall of Fame fighter.
But there is no shame losing to one of the greatest fighters of recent times.
In fact, Guerrero can take away three positives from the Mayweather fight in regards to his future in the sport.
Fighting against the biggest name in the sport provided an opportunity to showcase his talents and become well known on the grand stage of sports.
Guerrero by all accounts did not sustain irreparable damage in the fight. Yes he was cut and bruised up a little bit, but he should recover from his defeat physically just fine.
With his newfound exposure, his brand is bigger and he should be able to secure more lucrative fights against the bigger names in the sport going forward: everyone needs that one opportunity to break through.
Victor Ortiz got his opportunity against Mayweather, and although he hasn’t done anything lately of recent note in the boxing ring, he has parlayed his exposure into a gig on the recent season of the widely popular Dancing with the Stars.
Guerrero has his opportunity in the spotlight and he has a boisterous father/trainer who will attract attention whether it is positive or negative. But the question is now, who can Guerrero fight going forward?
In the past, he mentioned fighting some of the bigger names in the welterweight division. Guys like Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez, who coincidentally will feature in a classic welterweight clash this upcoming October.
But with Bradley, Marquez and even Manny Pacquiao being aligned under the Top Rank Promotions banner, a fight with any of those three big names is highly unlikely for Guerrero.
Maybe a fight with Victor Ortiz looms in the future. Ortiz is in a similar position as Andre Berto, who suffered a knockout defeat this past weekend.
Ortiz is coming off a couple of losses and desperately needs a win in order to get back in the mix of things in the welterweight division.
He has good power, is exciting fighter and a popular fighter. It’s a good fight for Guerrero and a winnable fight for him.
Personally, I think the best option for Guerrero is a fight with Adrien Broner. Guerrero should make this fight happen if at all possible.
Broner is on the cusp of super stardom, the fighters both have a genuine dislike for one another and a fight between the two can be promoted into a great Pay-Per-View event.
They’ve already engaged in a Twitter beef:
“You can’t deny talent,” said Broner. “Be real with yourself before your pride gets you [expletive] up. Just look at it like this, you beat Vicente [Escobedo] clearly but I STOPPED HIM. … Let’s be real, you know I’m the man when I got 147lb guys trying to make a big fight with me cause they can’t sell they self.”
And of course Guerrero replied.
“I’m not trying to sell nothing! Didn’t you call me, Marquez, and Pacman out? You called the big boys out, I’m not letting it happen!” Guerrero responded. “Jump up 2 weight classes & beat the #1 contender! You’re a good lil fighter coming up, but you are a rookie! Move up to 147 where I’m at now! The big boys and let’s lock & load! You’re 10 fights young & 5 titles away!”
Broner appears to want to be the second coming of Floyd Mayweather. Whether it’s emulating Mayweather’s shoulder roll defense, the arrogant, flashy persona, and other antics, he can definitely follow in his mentor’s footsteps if he fights an opponent his mentor recently fought.
And as mentioned earlier, there is a genuine dislike between Guerrero and Broner and their styles would complement each other in regards to making an entertaining fight. It would be difficult to predict a clear-cut winner.
It’s a good fight for the fans, a good fight for boxing. There are some good options for Guerrero right now, but ultimately it’s up to him on where his career goes from here.
Sources:
Osman Rodriguez, “Adrien Broner, Robert Guerrero Go To War on Twitter”
David King, “Adrien Broner and Robert Guerrero Exchange Words on Twitter: Fan Reaction”