LAS VEGAS – Robert Guerrero rolls his eyes in disbelief when informed that Floyd Mayweather, Jr. said he had never heard of him before Guerrero’s last fight — a stunning upset of Andre Berto on Nov. 24.
He will get that same kind of incredulous response from New Yorkers when he says he doesn’t remember Plaxico Burress. Burress, the ex-Giants and Jets receiver who spent 21 months in prison on felony weapon possession, would have been a great reference for Guerrero before he decided to pack a .40 caliber handgun in his luggage and try to transport it on a flight out of JFK Airport during a visit to New York City in March.
Guerrero was arrested and arraigned on charges of criminal possession of a firearm and will have to appear in a New York court on May 14. If he is convicted he could face four years in prison.
That will be hanging over Guerrero’s head when he steps into the ring against Mayweather in a 12-round welterweight title match at the MGM Grand on Showtime PPV on Saturday night.
Guerrero didn’t seem overly concerned about facing those gun charges when he met with reporters at the press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
“As soon as I got on a plane and left New York that all went out the window,” Guerrero said. “I knew right away that when I got back to Vegas it was fight time.”
Guerrero had come to New York to appear on a broadcast of “The 700 Club” a religious program where he espoused his Christian beliefs. When he was getting ready to leave New York he told authorities at JFK Airport that his luggage contained an unloaded .40 caliber handgun and ammunition. He was arrested on the spot.
The gun is legally registered in California where Guerrero lives, but New York has some of the strictest gun laws in the country. Guerrero described himself as a gun enthusiast.
“Definitely I have a gun at home for protection,” he said. “I’m an active hunter. I go out hunting and I like to be an outdoorsman. That’s what I do. Unfortunately, I was unaware of the gun laws in New York City. Lesson to be learned.”
Guerrero doesn’t believe he is in a Plaxico Burress situation. Burress shot himself in the leg after his loaded gun slipped from the waistband of his pants and discharged inside a crowded nightclub in 2008. He ended up taking a plea deal that included two years in prison and two years on probation in 2009.
Michael Schwartz/For New York Daily News Plaxico Burress leaving the 17th Precinct after his arrest.
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“Everything has been taken care of,” Guerrero said. “The least of my worries is that. My worries are to get the job done and do what I do.”
Guerrero, who started his career as a featherweight and fought at lightweight in 2011, has jumped two weight divisions in the two years that he has been calling out Mayweather. On Saturday night he will jump into an entirely different class, because Mayweather is far better than anyone that Guerrero has ever faced.
