ROBERT GUERRERO RETURNS WITH IMPRESSIVE
UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY OVER SELCUK AYDIN
SATURDAY ON SHOWTIME®
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero won
the World Boxing Council (WBC) Interim Welterweight World Championship with a
unanimous decision victory over previously undefeated Selcuk Aydin in front of a hometown crowd
on Saturday in the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP
BOXING main event at HP
Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
Guerrero, who was moving up two
weight classes after a 15-month layoff, was the more active boxer despite
admitting having to shake off some rust in his return to the ring. The
Gilroy ,
Calif. , native threw and landed
more punches while showcasing a surprising display of power and aggressiveness
in an impressive debut in his new division.
“He’s a strong
guy,” Guerrero said. “I want to take on the best and
that’s why we challenged him. It’s my first fight back in a
year and I took care of business.
Saturday’s SHOWTIME
CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® Telecast Will Replay Tuesday, July 31 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT
on SHOWTIME EXTREME® - Available On Demand from Sunday, July
29, through Aug. 26
“I believe in my talents and
my skills. I stood with him a little too long, but I’m a fighter.
Now you know I can take a shot at the welterweight division. Floyd
Mayweather, you want this belt, its right here. Come and get it. “
Guerrero (30-1-1, 18 KO’s)
built an early lead over the Turkish Aydin (23-1, 17 KO’s), who rallied
with his powerful right hand in the middle and later rounds, but Guerrero, who
fought with a second wind in the championship rounds, had built a steady lead
and won by scores of 117-11 and 116-112 (twice).
“I think I did wrong, not the
judges,” Aydin said. “I could not do what I wanted to
do. It’s my mistake, I blame it on me. After the fourth round
something happened with me. I saw double and I don’t know why, but
there’s no excuse - I lost.”
SHOWTIME boxing analyst and Hall of
Famer Al Bernstein was impressed
with Guerrero’s performance.
“It was fairly remarkable that
Guerrero was able to move up two weight classes after a long layoff and win a
battle of attrition with a true welterweight,” Bernstein said. “Aydin
is not a stylist and has technique issues, but he is a powerful puncher and he
made this an exciting fight.”
In a fast-paced, exciting fight, Shawn Porter kicked off the SHOWTIME
CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast with a hard-fought unanimous decision (96-94,
97-93, 98-92) victory over Alfonso Gomez in the 10-round welterweight co-feature.
The ShoBox:
The New Generation alum proved too tough and durable for Gomez, who
seemed unable to hurt Porter (20-0, 14 KO’s), of
Cleveland , Ohio ,
with his best shots. Porter, who landed 45 percent of his power punches
compared to Gomez’s 34 percent, dominated the middle rounds with
effective body shots and powerful combos as Gomez (23-6-2, 12 KO’s), of
Guadalajara, Mexico, tired.
“He has a lot of heart,”
Porter said. “We came in here and we knew what to expect.
I’m an aggressive fighter, my team knows that. If there’s
anything I can change it’s that I come forward too much.
“I’m 20 and 0. I
can do 10 (rounds) with no problem. I’m on my way up to 12.”
In SHOWTIME EXTREME action, Hugo Centeno (15-0, 8 KO’s), of
Oxnard, Calif., kept his unbeaten record intact with a near-shutout eight-round
unanimous decision victory (79-73, 80-72 twice) victory over Ayi Bruce (14-8, 8 KO’s), of Albany,
N.Y.
Undefeated British super
middleweight prospect George Groves (15-0, 12 KO’s) opened up the SHOWTIME EXTREME telecast with a bang with
a brutal knockout at 2:15 of the sixth round over Francisco Sierra (24-6-1, 22 KO’s),
of Tepic, Mexico.
The fights will air on replay on
SHOWTIME EXTREME on Tuesday, July 31, at 10:30 p.m. ET / PT and will be
available On Demand from Sunday, July 29 through Aug. 26.
Gus
Johnson called the action on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING with Al Bernstein serving as expert analysts. Barry Tompkins and Steve Farhood announced the fights on
SHOWTIME EXTREME. David Dinkins Jr. was the Executive Producer with Bob Dunphy directing.
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