Who Will Fernando Fight Next?

After the ooooos and ahhhs faded from the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center Friday night and the crowd shuffled out satisfied with a night of action packed boxing one question dominated conversations: Who will Fernando Fight Next?

Before I cover the question head on, I need to address the issue of Guerrero's resume thus far. I continue to hear people say that Fernando needs to "step up" and face someone of higher quality. I understand the wish and desire behind the remarks, but there are some things you have to consider.

Guerrero is just 23 years old. At an age where many of his peers' greatest fight in life is waking up for an 8am econ class, asking "do you want fries with that", trying to "find themselves" or the nearest party, Fernando Guerrero is training nearly non-stop, visiting schools, community events and is providing a very grown up example of what a real role model looks like. When friends and other boxing fans ask me why Guerrero hasn't fought for a major championship yet, I say consider his age. Sergio Gabriel Martinez won the WBC and WBO titles this past Saturday and he is 35. The man he took the titles from, Kelly Pavlik, is 28. WBA middleweight titlist, Felix Sturm, is 31 and IBF titlist Sebastian Sylvester is 29. None of them won their first major title before they were 25 and for Martinez, he just won his first major title at 35.

Some believe that the caliber of Fernando Guerrero's opponents has been weak, but I dispute this. Michael "The Midnight Stalker" Walker had taken Daniel Jacobs, whom many "experts" rate ahead of Guerrero as the best middleweight prospect, to 8 full rounds. Jacobs outboxed Walker, but was not able to dominate him the way Guerrero did. Coming into the fight it was reasonable for Prize Fight, Hal Chernoff and other people in the Guerrero camp to assume Walker would be a fight that Guerrero would win, but would provide a tough challenge and some teachable moments. No one expected this type of dominating performance. The people that argue Guerrero's opponents have been weak would cite his rout of Walker as a support to their argument. However, the fact is Fernando Guerrero is already a world class athlete and is blossoming into something more. Instead of viewing his overwhelming victory as a negative, I'm inclined to say it shows how much Guerrero has and is growing into his role as a legitimate top contender. Given his age and short years of service as a pro his ability to learn while stepping up the fitness part of his game is tremendous. I firmly believe if Guerrero had fought Walker two short years ago the match would have played out much differently. Fernando would still have won, but it wouldn't have been nearly as one-sided. When considering how Guerrero's opponents fare against him, keep in mind his ability as a boxer. Saying his opponents are collectively weak without considering that they may appear that way because Guerrero is an amazing talent is short-sighted, though sort of a backhanded compliment.

People also believe that with a 18-0 record Guerrero needs to be fighting top contenders and/or for a major title. I don't know that this is true at this point. If I were his adviser I certainly would not put Guerrero in the right with Kelly Pavlik or Sergio Gabriel Martinez any time soon. Though I would say he is probably close to taking on Sturm and Sylvester.

What you have to understand is that taking a prospect from the amateurs to the pros and then shepherding them to a title is an art form with moving parts. Every fighter is different and every era in boxing is different. There is an old boxing saying, "styles make fights". To illustrate this point consider that Muhammad Ali beat Joe Frazier two out of the three matches they fought, with all three being competitive. Ali knocked out George Foreman. Foreman knocked Frazier down six times the first time they fought en-route to a second round stoppage. He knocked him down two more the second time they fought and stopped him in five. Foreman dominated Frazier, a man that beat Ali, who was a man that knocked Foreman out. This applies to Team Guerrero because he needs to face several styles of boxer on his way to the title. This way he will be a more well rounded fighter and when he gets a shot at a major title he'll be prepared to beat any style. Two middleweight titles changed hands this weekend, it can happen in any fight, so as a contender you need to ready yourself accordingly and correct matchmaking plays a large role in that development. Right now Team Guerrero is in the fighter development phase of their campaign toward a world title. Give them and him some time, at 23 he certainly has that on his side. In the mean time, it's going to be a privilege and honor watching one of our own mature into a great boxer and an even greater man.

Next time I'll speculate on whom Fernando Guerrero may face in the ring next and in the future.