By the time this May 4 showdown with Robert Guerrero actually rolls around, Floyd Mayweather (43-0) will have gone 364 days without a single fight to his name—his last appearance in the ring coming against Miguel Cotto on May 5, 2012.
His opponent for the WBC welterweight title fight, Guerrero (31-1-1), will have fought twice in that time span and will believe he has the form and confidence to end Mayweather's incredible dominance over boxing.
However, regardless of the form and confidence he might have, there won't be anybody stopping Money in this one.
In his 43 fights, Mayweather has endured and witnessed firsthand a myriad of fighting styles. And while every fighter is different in their own way, Guerrero will simply show Mayweather a style that he has seen time and time before—and defeat time and time before.
Guerrero doesn't bring a great deal of speed to the table and he doesn't necessarily pack a whole lot of power either. What he does show is a great deal of aggression and consistency, and while he'll be a tough opponent for Money, he doesn't have the skill set or the X-factor required to beat Mayweather.
If he did, Mayweather would have already been defeated by now.
Instead, he remains undefeated at 43-0 and has a mountain of confidence behind him as a result—something that will no doubt carry him past Guerrero, as he alluded to via ESPN:
No one has a blueprint in how to beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. All 43 opponents had a game-plan; all 43 opponents came up short. No-one has found a way to break the Mayweather code. I don't think the layoff will hurt me. I've faced every style, so it's not hard for me to make adjustments.
Guerrero is an impressive fighter—ranked as the fifth-best welterweight in the world by ESPN—but he's not the pound-for-pound talent that Mayweather is, nor does he have the explosive skills of the 36-year-old that he's proven can end fights in an instant.
Mayweather isn't gong to fall prey to ring rust here—he's too much of a professional athlete to allow that to happen. Which might sound bizarre for the all the unusual antics of Mayweather, but he knows how important keeping his streak intact is.
He's not going to jeopardize that by not being ready for a fight that he knows is coming on May 4. His unabashed swagger aside, Mayweather has every right to feel confident heading into this one.
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