Guerrero, Maidana dream of fighting Pacquiao also
SETBACK. Robert Guerrero (right) absorbs a left punch from Omar Figueroa Jr in a 2017 welterweight fight he lost via TKO. Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images/AFP
MANILA, Philippines – No matter their minimal chances, returning fighters are joining the beeline for a crack at Manny Pacquiao.
After Marcos Maidana, latest to announce his intentions of tangling with the eight-division world champion is Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero.
Maidana is coming out of retirement while Guerrero is on the comeback trail.
Both are former two-division world champions so they're just on the fringes of the elite circle of aspirants headed by unscathed titlists Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford and former world champions Danny Garcia, Mikey Garcia, and Shawn Porter.
Even Keith Thurman, Pacquiao's last victim, is clamoring for a rematch.
Best remembered for his title clash with Floyd Mayweather Jr on May 3, 2014, which many people thought he won but lost by majority decision, Maidana (35-5, 31 knockouts) shed off 50 pounds amassed from over 5 years of inactivity to prove his intention.
The Argentine brawler's supposed comeback via an exhibition bout on April 18, however, got derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic and it's likely the former World Boxing Association super lightweight and welterweight champion's body has bloated again.
After a horrendous stretch from 2013 to 2017, where he compiled a 2-5 record, and a brief retirement in 2018, Guerrero has chalked 3 straight wins over lesser lights to climb to 36-6-1, 20 knockouts.
Guerrero believes two more fights against stronger opponents after the lockdown will be enough to merit him a shot against Pacquiao, Spence, or Thurman, who beat him by unanimous decision in 2015.
“I’m looking at Pacquiao too,” Guerrero, the former International Boxing Federation featherweight and junior lightweight titlist, told Premier Boxing Champions when asked if he wants a rematch with Thurman.
“You see Pacquiao beating guys Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman. He’s taking out these young guys. I’m looking at that Pacquiao fight too.
“I want to be in with the top fighters and go and win a world championship again. You even got a guy like Errol Spence, who is a top guy. I’d love to get in with Errol Spence. It’s one of those things. Match a lefty with a lefty and see what they can do."
Guerrero is 37 and Maidana is 36 so they can dream sharing the ring with the 41-year-old Pacquiao. – Rappler.com
