Contrary to information circulated on the internet, undefeated WBO Junior Lightweight Champion Joan Guzman, 28-0 (17), will travel to Scotland to defend his title against interim champion Alex Arthur.
Inaccurate reports across the internet have stated that Guzman has pulled out of his title fight against Arthur, 26-1 (19), which is currently scheduled for Saturday, May 3 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The highly anticipated fight, however, will likely be rescheduled.
“Guzman is not giving up his belt,” said Jose Nunez, Guzman’s long time manager. “He’s worked extremely hard and gone through tremendous sacrifices to become a world champion. He’s simply not going to give up his belt. Guzman will go to Scotland and he will successfully defend his title. The date will most likely be pushed back a bit.”
Guzman, who has fought in the U.K. once before, has had some trouble securing a visa that will allow him to travel to Scotland. According to Nunez, the issue is being resolved.
“Rest assured that team Guzman will have all the appropriate paperwork for this fight,” Nunez said. “We know what has to be done and we understand the time frame that is needed to accomplish this.”
“Right now we’re taking a wait-and-see approach,” said Sean Gibbons, matchmaker for Sycuan Ringside Promotions, the company that promotes Guzman. “We are waiting for Frank Warren of Sports Network to give us the new, rescheduled date.”
Frank Warren won the rights to this championship fight in a WBO purse bid.