By John J. Raspanti, Doghouse Boxing. - Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (29-1, 18 KOs) returns to the ring for the
first time in 20 months to face unbeaten Selcuk Aydin (23-0, 17 KOs)
July 28 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA. for the vacant WBC interim
welterweight championship.
Guerrero, 29, has seen his career
stalled by injuries and personal issues. Last September, Guerrero had
arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn tendon in the rotator cuff of his
left shoulder. The injury forced the cancellation of his highly
anticipated bout with Marcos Maidana. In 2010, Guerrero pulled out of a
scheduled bout with Michael Katsidis to be with his ailing wife Casey
during her recovery from a bone marrow transplant. She has since made a
complete recovery.
Turkish-born Aydin, 28, nicknamed “The
Mini Tyson” enjoyed a successful amateur career - punctuated by medals
in 2003 and 2004 European, and World University Boxing Championships. In
2005, Aydin struck a referee prompting an immediate suspension from
amateur boxing. He turned professional and quickly scored four straight
knockout victories.
Aydin kayoed Dzmitry Lubachkin and Raman
Dzekhkanau before capturing the WBC silver welterweight title in 2011 by
defeating Ionut Dan Ion in Trabzon, Turkey.
Aydin will be
giving up at least five inches in reach to Guerrero. His arms may be
short, but they pack some dynamite. He can also be wild, which bodes
well for the more polished Guerrero. Aydin’s lone fight in the United
States was in 2009.
Guerrero is a skillful southpaw. His
right jab is sharp and cutting. The Gilroy, Ca. native is coming off a
unanimous decision over Katsidis last April. The victory gave Guerrero
the WBO and WBA’s interim lightweight titles. “The Ghost” is also a
former two-time featherweight champion.
His fight against
Aydin will be his debut in the welterweight (147 pound) division. When
last seen in the ring, Guerrero weighted 134 pounds. Many are wondering
if the move-up in weight will sap Guerrero of his power. His record
shows 18 knockouts, but none since 2010. His last definitive knockout
victory was over Edel Ruiz in 2009. He weighed in at 129 pounds for that
encounter..
The volatile Aydin apparently felt disrespected
by the media’s lack of attention. He initially ignored a recent press
conference only to appear 30 minutes into the event to fire a major
salvo at Guerrero.
“You speak like a politician,” said Aydin
through an interpreter. “You need to spend more time training and
strengthening your jaw because I’m going to break it.”
Guerrero
quickly fired back, "For Aydin to say that I'm talking like a
politician and he's going to break my jaw? He had better be ready,
because he doesn't know what I've been through," Guerrero responded.
Without
question, Guerrero is the more skilled fighter. Fighting near his home
turf is also an advantage. But, after jumping up two weight divisions,
will he have the strength to withstand the hard-charging Aydin? If he
can control the action - a win by decision seems likely.
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