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Unbeaten Turkish welterweight contender Selcuk Aydin offended Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer and members of the international press last Thursday when he didn’t want to participate in a conference call for his July 28th WBC championship bout against Robert Guerrero at HP Pavilion in San Jose.
When Aydin finally entered the call and interrupted the discussion he renewed his threat to break Guerrero’s jaw. “You only talk like a politician”, said Aydin directed to Guerrero. “You should focus on your training instead. Try to strengthen your jaw because I will break it!”
Aydin himself certainly focused on his training process over the past weeks and months. He started preparing for the fight in Stuttgart, Germany as early as May 1st and moved camp to San Jose on July 1st for three weeks of intense sparring completing a total of 100 sparring rounds.
Because the hot-headed Turk isn’t as well known in the United States as five-time three-division world champion Guerrero, the international sports betting industry favours “The Ghost”. When Aydin’s sparring partners heard that they worked with the 4:1 underdog they spontaneously decided to put part of their hard earned sparring money on Aydin.
“4:1 is ridiculous”, said experienced Miami based Cuban Damian Frias who spent three weeks in camp. “Whoever made these odds has no idea that Aydin is one of the hardest hitting guys out there. This is easy money. I bet Selcuk will stop Guerrero.”
Jhonathan Batista from Dominican Republic also favours Aydin to take the WBC welterweight champion belt home to Turkey. “I have been sparring with Miguel Cotto when he prepared for Mayweather and I can confirm that Aydin hits harder than Cotto”, said Batista. “He’s a rough and tough fighter and I don’t see how Guerrero wants to beat him.
To take it a little easier on his training partners, Aydin sparred with 16 ounce gloves. “We used 14 oz. gloves in the very first sparring but we were concerned that the sparring partners couldn’t take Selcuk’s power”, says head coach Conny Mittermeier.
“We had a great camp and perfect preparation for this fight. Selcuk is in top condition and already has the weight one week before the bout. I have never seen him as concentrated. I feel sorry for Guerrero because he will take a lot of punishment.”
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) with Shawn Porter facing Alfonso Gomez for the NABO Welterweight title in the co-featured fight and preliminary fights to air live on Showtime Extreme at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.
Tickets priced at $252, $127, $62, and $26 are available for purchase online at Ticketmaster.com, charge by phone at (800) 745-3000 and at the HP Pavilion Ticket Office.
