Is Guerrero a credible opponent, or a Mayweather hand picked fall guy?

After weeks of speculation, Floyd Mayweather announced his opponent for the upcoming May 4th bout as Robert “the ghost” Guerrero.

Though Mayweather revealed  a few weeks earlier (much to Kell Brook’s annoyance),  Devon Alexander was the front runner to face him on this date, this bout was widely expected.

The understanding is if Mayweather gets through this fight, which he is obviously expected too. He will then fight the winner of the undercard bout between Canelo Alvarez and Austin Trout.

I think the biggest surprise of the press release was the fact that Mayweather decided to cut ties with HBO Boxing and has now joined forces with Showtime. In a staggering six fight deal over the next 30 months which was described as possibly the “richest individual athlete deal in all of sports”.

For me this is a fitting way to bring the curtain down on a glittering career, in what could be the most exciting and intriguing part of it.

First of all let me just say, as most of Mayweather’s opponents (especially by the Pacquiao supporters) are written off even before they step through the ropes, after this announcement there will be no change.

But Guerrero is no slouch and has done it the hard way to get to this point. As well as inside the ring he has battled adversity outside the ring. In 2009 he had to relinquish his IBF Super-Featherweight title to care for his wife Casey who was battling cancer.

Since his return to the ring he has racked up 6 straight victories, the last five have been gruelling unanimous point’s victories where he was clearly the victor.

He beat Joel Casamayor in 10 rounds in July 2010, followed by Vincente Escobedo for the WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title in 10 rounds, where Escobedo was knocked down twice.

He then beat Michael Katsidis in 12 rounds for the interim WBA & WBO lightweight titles.

Surgery to an injured torn tendon in his rotator cuff put him out for six months. On his return in July 2011, he defeated the unbeaten Selchuk Aydin for the vacant interim WBC welterweight title.

His last bout was again a gruelling encounter, as he defeated Andre Berto in a unanimous decision flooring him in the first two rounds.

Guerrero has earned this fight and is a credible opponent, and despite what many may say it will not be a foregone conclusion. Floyd will soon be turning 36, this will be his first fight since leaving prison, his first in a year and he will be the smaller fighter.

Nobody knows how all this will affect him when he steps back inside the ring, boxing can be predictable but it can also be very unpredictable.

Look what happened to Manny Pacquiao when he fought Timothy Bradley, hell, look what happened to him when he fought Juan Manuel Marquezrecently.

No doubt the usual Mayweather haters will cry foul play with murmurs of him ducking another fighter, possibly Sergio Martinez this time.

The fact that he has fought multiple champions, undefeated fighters and top ten ranked boxers while moving up two weights in his last six fights means nothing to them.

They will still call him boring even though he is a defensive genius. His trash talk, egotistical boasting, cocky attitude and constant money flaunting is the reason he will never get the real credit his career and skills have warranted.

Was Michael Schumacher boring when he was winning his 7th formula one title? Or when Pete Sampras or Roger Federer won their 7th Wimbledon title? Did they call Man Utd boring when they won their 12th title in 20 seasons of the Premier League? Or even Spain after winning their third major tournament in a row?

The answer is NO; they were / are just too good, sometimes you have to just give it up for greatness.

For me Floyd Mayweather would have been great in any era and I feel he will be more revered for what he has done in his career when he eventually retires.

With that being said, this six fight deal will take Floyd up to 50 fights where I suspect he will want to end undefeated.

His last fight against Miguel Cotto saw him get hit the most ever in a fight, and at 36 his skills and reflexes are not what they used to be.

Father time catches up to us all, this is the reason why this six fight deal (providing it lasts that long) starting with the Guerrero bout could be the most intriguing and exciting of Mayweather’s career.