Guzman Confident of a Summer Showdown With Campbell

The old thread was deleted for some reason (even the mods avoid Guzman!), so here it is again without the mention of any hints to what site it's from.

Regardless of Joel Casamayor's decision between now and Tuesday regarding a potential Nate Campbell rematch, Joan Guzman can now take comfort in the fact that a lightweight title shot is within reach. "I was guaranteed by the WBO that Guzman is number one, and that nobody will move in front of him," manager Jose Nunez informed. "That's straight from Paco (Francisco Valcarcel, WBO President). If Casamayor passes on the fight, then Guzman is the immediate mandatory. It won't be Amir Khan." The clarification comes on the heels of confusion over who is the true mandatory challenger. Campbell is regarded as the organization's champion, with Casamayor as its interim titlist. The top two challengers after that are unbeaten, but still largely untested, prospects-cum contenders Amir Khan and Anthony Peterson.

It was speculated that Casamayor would pass on the Campbell fight unless an outstanding enough purse bid was submitted. Promoter Don King's bid of $1.22 million surpassed any other, but the claim is that the net amount will pale in comparison to what the Cuban can make for a fall showdown against either Juan Diaz or the latest rumored entrant, Juan Manuel Marquez, who has expressed an interest in joining the lightweight fracas.

Should Casamayor pass on the fight (which many believe will be the case), Guzman will officially be named Campbell's mandatory challenger. The only thing it doesn't ensure is Dominican receiving an immediate title shot. The WBO is already on record stating that Campbell will be granted an optional defense in the event that Casamayor rejects the offer.

It's worth noting, however, that a WBO lightweight mandatory defense hasn't been made since Acelino Freitas won the vacant with a controversial decision over Zahir Raheem in April 2006. Even with unified champions afforded more time between mandatories, the WBO's would still be well overdue.

Guzman is okay with whatever ruling comes about – but is confident that the Galaxxy Warrior will still look his way early next week when searching for his next opponent. "I hope that the WBO mandates the fight, because the Campbell fight is the one I want," insists Guzman, who is spending time with his family while his mother remains in the hospital after being diagnosed with a brain tumor earlier this month. "I'm ready to go, the moment Casamayor turns down the fight, I'm ready to step in. There's really no other fight out there for him. It doesn't make sense for him to look elsewhere. We're both willing to take on the best, so why fight someone else to get ready for each other." While Campbell has always put his fighting pride before any dollar amount, there is a hint of truth to Guzman's claim of limited options. All signs point toward Casamayor squaring off against another Golden Boy promoted lightweight. Ditto for Juan Diaz (if Casamayor faces Marquez, Diaz will most likely face Michael Katsidis), while David Diaz is less than a month away from his PPV showdown against Filipino phenom Manny Pacquiao.

There are always guys like Jose Armandao Santa Cruz, whom many believe was robbed out of a decision win over Casamayor last November. But such a fight would be the epitome of high-risk, no reward or profile of any kind. The same could be said of a matchup with, say Zahir Raheem, who probably deserves a title shot, but often finds himself on the outside looking in when it comes to network interest.

As mentioned earlier, Khan and Peterson are still in need of a competition upgrade before pursuing titles, alphabet or linear. Julio Diaz is just now on the comeback trail after his eight-round drubbing against Juan Diaz last October.

A Juan Manuel Marquez fight was offered by Golden Boy, but Campbell rightfully stepped up and said there was no need to wait for November for such a fight when he's ready to go by no later than September.

This brings us back to Guzman, who hasn't fought since November and is anxious to get back in the ring. That he's willing to take on Campbell without a tune-up begs the question of why the recently crowned champion would want to look anywhere else. "Nate doesn't need a tune-up. At this point in his career, he doesn't need to waste his time against guys who don't deserve the shot in the first place. He only needs big fights." Should it come to Campbell-Guzman, the Dominican insists that he'll be ready to fight at the drop of the dime, and not prolong matters for the sake of seeking a better deal elsewhere, as Casamayor has done. In showing Campbell the proper respect, Guzman believes the champion will ultimately step up and do the fight thing.

"I don't really believe Nate to be the type to turn down any fights. I don't think he'll string me along like Casamayor's been doing to him. Nate truly lives up to his nickname – the Galaxxy Warrior. He'll fight anyone in the world, and doesn't fear anyone." Guzman also wanted to point out that he was embarrassed by a press release allegedly quoting his thoughts on Nate Campbell, and the suggestion that the Flordian was ducking him. "I wasn't happy about what was written, it's not the type of person I am," he insists. "Publicists need to do their jobs and make a living, but sometimes they get carried away. I have all of the respect in the world for Nate, who has overcome the odds and has always shown a willingness to take on all comers, putting the fight before the dollar amount. That's why I believe, once the WBO says I'm his next challenger, that he'll do the right thing and grant me the opportunity to fight for my third world title."

Unlike Casamayor and Golden Boy, who seemed all too willing to let the chips fall where they may in all of this, Guzman's team is firmly behind him in securing a Campbell fight – TV date and all. "Sycuan Ringside Promotions (Guzman's exclusive promoter) already has a SHOWTIME date reserved, and would love to fill it with a Campbell-Guzman fight," says Nunez. "Nate doesn't have to worry about Don King dipping into his own pockets to put the fight on his website. It's really just up to the WBO to make the fight happen – or for Nate to do the right thing, and fight the best fighter out there, and the only one willing to fight him"

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Well, things are beggining to sound better for Guzman right now. Casamayor will most likely fight Juan Diaz instead of Campbell and this should be announced soon. The article also confirms what I thought about the Guzman-Campbell trash talk (Guzman didn't really say those insults about two weeks ago).. so people who thought he was out of line should understand that he would never say the kind of **** that was written in that one article.

Campbell vs Guzman needs to happen. Two true warriors and the two best lightweights, colliding in a matchup that's very high risk for both of them.

Damn.. seeing Guzman with all those titles around him before the end of the summer would be amazing. :hat Hopefully Campbell will give him that chance.

 

Well, I guess it's too late to edit the post since you two quoted me already. If I get banned, you're to blame.

And if Pac beats Marquez in a rubber match after beating David Diaz and Guzman beats Juan Diaz after beating Campbell, then that leaves no other option for Pac other than a big money fight against Guzman. Now that would truly be a great situation (except for the sad JMM loss part).

 

Thank you.

 

If he was getting fights like Campbell and Juan Diaz, there's no way he or his team would be pulling out of fights. He's waited and suffered too damn long in his career to jeopardize fighting big fights. Katsidis, Harrison and Arthur were all different situations and getting a big fight signed against a Campbell, Pac, or Diaz would not result in a sudden cancellation like those zero risk/small reward fights.

 

September 2010 maybe.

Warren would never put Khan in with someone like Campbell that early, or ever.