As training camp winds down, take a look into the training camps of former Three-Time World Champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (29-1-1, 18 KO’s) and undefeated WBC Silver Welterweight Champion Selcuk “Mini Tyson” Aydin (23-0, 17 KO’s) as they prepare for their July 28 world title clash at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. which will be televised live on Showtime. Guerrero has settled into training camp in the beautiful Lake Tahoe mountains where California meets Nevada at a high elevation; while Aydin moved his training from Stuttgart, Germany to San Jose to finish preparation for July 28.
GUERRERO: CALIFORNIA LIVING IN LAKE TAHOE MOUNTAINS
A former three-division world champion, the talented Guerrero is ready for the difficult challenge of moving up in weight to face number one rated WBC welterweight contender Aydin in hopes of winning a world championship in a fourth weight class.
“It’s been a grueling training camp since I arrived four weeks ago,” said Guerrero. “There’s no cable TV, no busy streets, nothing, just a whole lot of forest and mountains.”
Guerrero continued, “I get up at 5:00 a.m. every morning to start my road work. I follow that by a hard workout in the middle of the day, then end with push-ups and sit-ups at night. I’m getting the proper sparring and amount of rounds to get me ready for Aydin, who I know is coming to rip my head off. I’m expecting a rough, rugged fight and the fans will not want to miss it, I can guarantee that!”
When asked about Aydin and his come-forward style, Guerrero said, “My team and I have been studying all of Aydin’s fights and we know where we can take advantage of his flaws. Aydin is very strong and puts a tremendous amount of pressure on all of his opponents. I can see why he’s been avoided, but I’m ready to take him on even though nobody else wants to.”
Guerrero’s father, Ruben Guerrero, who also is his trainer, said, “Robert is looking sharp and I’m confident we will win this fight. We’ve been studying Aydin and we have the perfect game plans for him. I know my son is hungry to take care of his family and believe me; he’s going to leave it all in the ring on fight night. This training camp has been very productive.”
“I can see Robert’s body getting stronger and stronger as each day goes by,” manager and nutritionist Bob Santos said. “I think people will be surprised at how Robert’s body will look on fight night. We took this risky fight because we believe Robert is on the level of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. A win against Aydin puts us in a wonderful position to challenge the best fighters in boxing.”
Guerrero went on to say, “I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for getting me to this point in my career. I have tremendous support from my wife Casey, who’s been through a lot. I also want to say that no man in boxing is hungrier than I am. On July 28, everyone is going to see a man that will be fighting to take care of his family, a wife who has battled cancer and is now healthy, a tremendous team who’s stuck by my side through thick and thin and a hometown crowd that will be cheering for me to bring it home. Aydin is going to give it absolutely everything he has, just like me, so this fight will most likely be a ‘Fight Of The Year’ type fight, because neither of us is going to back down. Everyone is in for a treat when we battle at HP Pavilion on SHOWTIME!”
AYDIN: FROM GERMANY TO CALIFORNIA
The offensive-minded, hard-hitting Aydin, who hails from Trabzon, Turkey, has been the WBC’s number one rated welterweight contender and mandatory challenger for the 147-pound title for almost three years and is eager to showcase his skills and ability to fans and experts all over the world.
“This is the big chance and the big fight I have been waiting and working for,” Aydin said. “I will not let this opportunity pass. I give my respect to Robert Guerrero for fighting me when so many other so-called champions have ducked me for years. Unfortunately, Guerrero will find out the hard way why nobody wants to fight me. I will walk right through “The Ghost” and take the belt back home to Turkey! ”
To achieve a lifelong goal, Aydin and his team left nothing to chance. The former European champion started training on May 1 in Stuttgart, Germany and moved his training camp to San Jose, Calif., on July 1. He’ll spend the last couple weeks winding down his preparation while continuing to acclimate himself.
“When we have to go to the lion’s den, we go all the way, ” Aydin’s promoter Ahmet Oner said. “By coming to San Jose so early, Selcuk wanted to make a statement and show everybody that he is not afraid of Guerrero’s hometown advantage. Of course, we know that it is always tough to win in your opponent’s backyard, but Selcuk is a true warrior. It doesn’t matter where he’s fighting, he is always ready for war. ”
“Moving training camp from Germany to the United States had different benefits for us, ” Aydin’s head coach Conny Mittermeier said. “Of course, we wanted to get adjusted to the time difference and the weather conditions over here, but it’s also easier to find high-quality sparring partners in the United States than it is in Europe. Especially when you’re looking for slick, fast welterweight southpaws.”
Aydin has already completed more than 50 rounds of sparring and will end up having done about 100 rounds before wrapping up training camp.
“I had no problems adjusting to everything here in California,” Aydin said. “I have trained and fought in the United States before and it feels natural to be here. Boxing is an international sport and the United States is the place to be for big fights and big money. Of course, Turkey is my home country and Trabzon is my hometown, which I am very proud of, but I am also happy and proud to be here. Not many fighters get the chance to prove themselves on the big stage and I thank everybody for giving me this opportunity.”
“Thanks to our wonderful hosts at San Jose Boxing & Fitness,” added Mittermeier. “We’ve had ideal conditions for our training. The sparring partners are doing a great job. We have some guys over here who worked with Miguel Cotto for his fight against Floyd Mayweather and with Timothy Bradley for when he prepared for Manny Pacquiao. It doesn’t get much better than this. Selcuk is in great shape. Sometimes I have to stop him a little to make sure that he doesn’t tear somebody’s head off. I have never seen him as focused and as fired up for a fight.”
“The Thunderstorm from the Black Sea” (“Karadeniz Firtinasi”), as Selcuk is called in his hometown of Trabzon, knows that it could be difficult to win a decision.
“I am not planning to leave the decision to the judges,” Aydin said. “I didn’t come to California to outbox or outscore Guerrero. I am on a very simple mission…seek and destroy! Every other day I read somewhere that Guerrero is dreaming of fights against Mayweather and Pacquiao. He can dream whatever he wants when I put him to sleep. ‘The Ghost’ has no idea what’s coming to him. He may have been featherweight and junior lightweight champion, but now he’s playing with the big boys. The first time I hit him, he will regret moving up in weight and accepting to fight me.”
Guerrero vs. Aydin, a 12-round fight for the WBC Interim Welterweight World Championship, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Arena-Box Promotion and sponsored by Corona, DeWalt Tools and AT&T. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast will air live at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) and preliminary fights to air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT
