Showtime snares big Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Robert Guerrero bout

Associated Press
Posted: February 20, 2013

FLOYD MAYWEATHER Jr. will fight Robert Guerrero on May 4, and he's changing television networks to do it.

The biggest star in boxing dropped a surprise Tuesday while announcing his long-rumored next bout: After several years on HBO, Mayweather is moving to Showtime with a lucrative multifight deal.

Mayweather's move is a coup for Showtime, the CBS-owned network that has always trailed behind HBO in boxing prominence. Mayweather (43-0, 26 KOs) is the sport's biggest moneymaker, and his new revenue-sharing deal with Showtime could include up to six pay-per-view fights over 30 months.

Mayweather's first bout is against Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KOs), the WBC's interim welterweight champion. The fight likely will be at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, the site of Mayweather's last six bouts.

Mayweather turns 36 on Sunday, but the unbeaten WBC 147-pound champion has shown few signs of advancing age in the ring. He hasn't fought since beating Miguel Cotto last May 5, and he spent 2 months in jail last summer after his conviction in a misdemeanor domestic battery case.

Guerrero beat out several contenders to get the biggest payday of his career and a shot at his sport's biggest name. Guerrero, from Gilroy, Calif., is a onetime featherweight champion who hasn't lost since 2005, beating welterweight Andre Berto last November.

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