No. 1 IBF challenger is likely opponent
Robert Guerrero promised to be a busy champion. Apparently, he will be as good as his word and quickly.
Guerrero, who won the International Boxing Federation featherweight title 10 days ago, is ready to return to the ring and chances are good it will be Nov. 4 on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Carlos Baldomir welterweight championship.
Although no contracts have been signed yet, all signs at this juncture point to Gilroy resident Guerrero (19-1-1) defending his title against IBF No. 1 challenger, Orlando Salido, at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The fight will be an HBO, pay-per-view fight featuring the unbeaten Mayweather, considered by many the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world today. As when Guererro fought on the undercard of the James Toney-Samuel Peter heavyweight elimination fight, this will be an excellent opportunity for national exposure.
Guerrero’s co-manager, Bob Santos, would not confirm that a fight will take place, but he did say, “It’s a good possibility we will get it done. Nothing has been signed, and we are awaiting approval by the IBF as well as by Sycuan (Baldomir’s promotional team; Mayweather’s promoter, Goosen Tudor, also promotes Guerrero). It would be nice but it’s not done until everyone gets on board.”
Guerrero, 23, took some time off last week to do some camping with family and friends. He is back in the gym this week. Theoretically, he shouldn’t have any problem getting prepared since he dominated the fight with Eric Aiken and was never hurt by any punches. Salido, 25, is 27-9-2 with 18 KOs.
“We want to keep him busy and get him back in the ring,” Santos said. “This is Robert’s mandatory so, obviously, (Salido) would be a future opponent.
“It would be nice to get something done. We’re looking to put Robert in the best possible position available. It would be a huge opportunity for Robert to showcase his skills on a card of that magnitude.”
