Some things are more important than boxing. Robert Guerrero knows this better than anyone. In 2007, his wife Casey was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Casey underwent a bone marrow transplant earlier this year. Robert decided to take an indefinite leave from boxing to be with his wife during her recovery. Despite being on the doorstep of big-money fights, Robert Guerrero saw that something more important needed his attention.
When Robert Guerrero decided to be with his wife over boxing, he also chose to forfeit his IBF super featherweight title. It was his third World title and in his second weight class. Guerrero won the title from Malcom Klassen as part of an HBO doubleheader. The win put Guerrero in prime position to capture a title in a third different weight class. HBO had scheduled a March 27 fight for Guerrero against lightweight champion Michael Katsidis. This was certainly good news for Guerrero. Better news was delivered, however, when Casey Guerrero was told doctors found a matching donor for her bone marrow transplant. The transplant was on January 25. Two weeks later, Robert Guerrero announced that caring for his ailing wife and their two children was more important than training for a world title.
Just like that, Robert Guerrero walked away from the biggest fight of his life to be with his wife during the biggest fight of her life.
Casey Guerrero is now on her road to recovery. Robert got back into the ring on April 30 with a TKO win over Roberto David Arrieta. The fight was merely to shake off any ring rust. The win itself meant very little. It was a small step, however, towards things getting back to normal for the Guerrero Family.
With Robert Guerrero now able to focus more on his boxing career, Golden Boy Promotions have given him the opportunity to get back into the title picture. Robert Guerrero will next fight former two-division world champion Joel Casamayor on July 31. The fight will take place at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas and will be a part of the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz II HBO pay-per-view event.
Joel Casamayor is a dangerous fighter despite his advanced age. The Cuban will be 39 on fight night. He defeated Michael Katsidis in 2008 and went toe-to-toe with Juan Manuel Marquez in what would turn out to be an 11th round TKO loss later that year. At least Casamayor is an opponent that Robert Guerrero can see. That must be a welcome and refreshing change.
Matchmaking is very deliberate in boxing. Joel Casamayor was picked to face Robert Guerrero for a reason. He can certainly hurt Guerrero, but Casamayor is not the fighter he once was. Still, the Casamayor name carries some weight (pun intended) and will help propel Guerrero back to where he left off in February.
Robert Guerrero’s comeback story is now the subject of a documentary being produced in association with Golden Boy Promotions. Casey’s recovery from leukemia will be a part of the documentary, as well as other obstacles Robert has faced throughout his boxing career. A Spring 2011 release is expected for the film.
A win over Joel Casamayor on July 31 will go a long way in kick-starting the Guerrero comeback on the boxing side of things. But Robert Guerrero has seen bigger comebacks in the form of his wife Casey. Nothing he will do inside of a boxing ring will compare to what she has done outside of it. Casey’s story proves, however, that the fight never ends. Robert’s fight with Casamayor is his biggest fight to date, until the next one.
Very few people will be rooting for Joel Casamayor on July 31; a fact the brash Cuban probably couldn’t care less about. He is just another obstacle on the road of the Guerrero comeback story. A win for Robert Guerrero will likely put him in line for a world title shot. Or maybe a big-money fight against the winner of Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz could be in his future.
Regardless of what happens to Robert Guerrero on July 31 and beyond, boxing has been put into perspective now. Some things are just more important.
