Sport
Floyd Mayweather Jr. to fight Robert Guerrero on May 4
A victorious Floyd Mayweather Jr. after defeating Miguel Cotto, Saturday May 5, 2012. PHOTO/Al Bello/Getty Images
Floyd Mayweather Jr. will fight Robert Guerrero on May 4 2013, and he is changing television networks to do it.
Mayweather Jr., who is the biggest star in boxing dropped a surprise Tuesday while announcing his long-rumored next bout: After several years on HBO, he is moving to Showtime with a lucrative multi-fight deal.
Mayweather Jr., (43-0, 26 KOs) is the sport’s biggest moneymaker, and his new revenue-sharing deal with Showtime could include up to six pay-per-view fights over 30 months.
Mayweather Jr.’s first bout is against Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KOs), the WBC’s interim welterweight champion. The fight likely will be at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, the site of Mayweather Jr.’s last six bouts.
Mayweather Jr., turns 36 on Sunday, but the unbeaten WBC 147-pound champion has shown few signs of advancing age in the ring. He hasn’t fought since beating Miguel Cotto last May 5.
With Showtime as his new showcase, Mayweather Jr.’s fans can expect to see much more in the next few years from the re-energized champion, who has fought just four times since December 2007.
Guerrero beat out several contenders to get the biggest payday of his career and a shot at his sport’s biggest name. Guerrero, from Gilroy, California, is a onetime featherweight champion who hasn’t lost since 2005, beating welterweight Andre Berto in a thrilling fight last November.
“On May 4th I’m going to shock the world,” Guerrero tweeted.
Sources reveal that Mayweather chose Guerrero as his next opponent because of his toughness and crowd-pleasing style.
Guerrero and Showtime Sports general manager Stephen Espinoza both felt lucky after Mayweather made his decision. Espinoza went after Mayweather Jr., before his last fight, but finally got his man after two weeks of negotiations.
“He is as compelling an entertaining a personality as there is in sports, and his performance is at the top of the sport as well,” Espinoza told reporters. “You don’t often see those things in combination. Everything he does, everything he says generates reaction and discussion. Those are the people you want. We’re thrilled to be working with Floyd.”
Mayweather has been on Time Warner-owned HBO for essentially his entire professional career, which began after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Along with his peerless pay-per-view prowess, Mayweather starred in HBO’s popular “24/7” reality series before each of his past six bouts, further growing his celebrity with the four-episode showcases of his Vegas lifestyle and irrepressible personality.
Mayweather Jr., is making another big change for his next fight: He has hired his father, Floyd Sr., as his trainer. The younger Mayweather was estranged from his father for long stretches of the past several years while he trained under his uncle, Roger.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press