Mayweather will be too good for Guerrero

Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather will beat Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this weekend. I’m fairly certain of that.

It might not seem like such a bold statement considering one of them is among the greatest pound-for-pound boxers ever, is the world’s highest paid athlete, is undefeated in 43 fights with 26 knockouts to his name, has won eight World Championships in five weight classes and was twice named Ring magazine Fighter of the Year.

Mayweather’s record speaks for itself; although ‘Money’ – in the best tradition of Muhammad Ali – never tires of reminding everyone just how good he is.

His opponent, 30-year old southpaw Robert Guerrero (31-1-1, 26 KOs), is hard-hitting and hungry with a steadfast conviction in his ultimate success.

Guerrero is dangerous, while Mayweather is no spring chicken at 36.

That’s why I’m only ‘fairly certain’ of a Mayweather victory.

Here’s the tale of the tape.

No matter what happens this weekend, Mayweather will go down in the history books as the best of his generation and one of the greatest boxers of all time.

He has nothing to prove to anyone, but don’t think for a second that will affect his motivation.

He’ll be training for this fight as hard as his first and as hard as his bouts with Oscar de la Hoya and Ricky Hatton.

The only blemish – if you can call it that – on his boxing record is that he never stepped into the ring with Manny Pacquiao (a fact that lowers each man in my eyes).

Ali and Frazier, two of the best of their generation, fought three times.

So did Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran.

There’s a litany of men who have stood – sometimes foolishly – in front of Mayweather hoping in vain to stop him.

Gatti, Judah, De La Hoya, Hatton, Marquez, Mosley, Ortiz and Cotto all succumbed to the Mayweather genius – sometimes in disastrous and embarrassing ways. Remember ‘Hitman’ Hatton being sent to Ricky Wonderland?

Guerrero has won belts at featherweight and junior lightweight and interim belts at lightweight and welterweight and shot into Mayweather’s sights with a surprise win over Andre Berto last November.

The Ghost scored a brutal knockdown in each of the first two rounds before boxing smart and gritty for a unanimous decision in one of the matches of the year.

The Berto fight highlighted Guerrero’s raw power and iron jaw but there’s another reason he thinks he’ll succeed where 43 others have failed.

The last time Mayweather laced the gloves was almost a year ago – he’s had a stint in prison since then – and many are wondering if the time off has blunted his attack.

There may be some merit to that theory, but ‘Money’ proved he could come back from a long lay-off when he defeated Juan Manuel Marquez in 2009, almost two years after destroying Hatton.

Time and time again, Mayweather has been able to rise above the disruptions and distractions outside the ring to excel inside it.

There are distractions this time – the return of Mayweather’s father to the fold, the prison time, his recently signed six fight contract with Showtime – but the result will be the same.

While he might have lost half a step and a bit of speed, his defensive prowess and sheer-fistic intelligence should be more than enough to account for the younger challenger.

A powerful Mexican-American hitter, Guerrero must crowd Mayweather and get inside the zone he likes to operate, but that’s easier said than done.

Basically, he needs to be brave, smart, strong, fast, fit, lucky…well, basically superhuman to defeat one of the greats.

Time and age will catch up with Mayweather sooner or later. I doubt it will be this weekend, but Guerrero could go a long way to speeding the process up.