Mayweather defeats Guerrero for 44th straight victory

After a year away from the ring and a two-month stint in prison, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is still "money."

 

The undisputed pound-for-pound champion of boxing returned to Las Vegas to paint a masterful unanimous decision victory over former multiple-division titleholder Robert Guerrero at the MGM Grand Arena, winning by the scores of 117-111 on all three judges' scorecards.

 

Mayweather (44-0, 26 knockouts), who hadn't fought since winning a unanimous decision over Miguel Cotto on May 5 last year, showed no signs of slowing down at the age of 36, landing over 60 percent of his power shots on the southpaw Guerrero (31-2-1, 18 KOs), who had held titles at featherweight and junior lightweight, and interim belts at lightweight and welterweight.

 

Guerrero, a native of Gilroy, California, began the fight aggressively, landing solid left crosses on Mayweather in the first two rounds. Mayweather, who has won titles in every division from 130 to 154 pounds, took control from the third round on, timing Guerrero with lead right crosses that sapped Guerrero's confidence each round. The fight became increasingly one-sided beginning round five, when a right cross from Mayweather rocked Guerrero back on his heels. 

 

Guerrero's own power shots missed wildly, or were blocked by Mayweather's gloves, adding to Guerrero's frustration.

 

"The hands can't hit what the eyes can't see," shouted Mayweather's father Floyd Sr. during that stanza, borrowing a quote from Muhammad Ali. Mayweather Sr. took over head training duties from his brother Roger Mayweather for the first time since ceding the job to Roger after falling out with his son during the late-90s.

 

The punishment began to take a toll on Guerrero's face in round eight, when a Mayweather right cross opened up a cut above Guerrero's left eye. Guerrero continued to come forward, though he was unable to register any level of effectiveness.

 

The crowd booed the final 30 seconds of the bout, apparently unhappy with the lack of drama throughout.

 

"Everybody was saying that, at the age of 36, that I wasn't sharp, but I proved myself," said Mayweather, who says he was unable to push for a knockout after hurting his oft-injured right hand midway through the bout. "All I want to do is keep providing exciting fights."

 

Guerrero, who will face firearm charges before a New York court on May 14, admitted afterwards that Mayweather was "a little better than I thought."

 

"He was barely slipping by the punches, I landed some good punches on him but Floyd is a great fighter," Guerrero said.

 

The fight was Mayweather's first with the premium network Showtime, after fighting all of his previous major bouts on rival network HBO. Mayweather's next date is penciled in for September 14, a coveted date for boxing promoters because of its proximity to Mexican Independence Day on September 16. 

 

A showdown with Mexican fan favorite and WBC/WBA unified junior middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KOs) is probably the most lucrative fight that could be made in boxing, replacing the Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight that remains this generation's greatest fight that never happened. 

 

When asked whether "Canelo" would be in the opposing corner in September, Mayweather was as elusive as he is with incoming punches.

 

"We don't know who we're gonna fight right now," said Mayweather. "Let me go home and rest first and talk it over with [manager Al Haymon] and [adviser Leonard Ellerbe]." - RAF, GMA News

 

Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and contributes to GMA News. He is also a member of The Ring ratings panel and can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com. An archive of his work can be found here. Follow him on Twitter too.