Early Wednesday morning with an audio background of typical Dominican Republic street life, Mr. Guerrero contacted Boxingtalk.com stating his relationship with Guzman is stronger than ever and intact. "When I was informed of Leon's report it surprised me. Joan and I have a strong relationship, you have witnessed it following his career during the past months." The confidence in the strength of his business relationship with Guzman was evident with the following comment by Guerrero, "Guzman and I have a special understanding. When Guzman leaves boxing, I will leave the sport. When I leave the sport, Guzman will leave the sport."
This writer has documented the personal and public feud between Guerrero and the WBO President Francisco Valcarcel during 2004. The latest flare up between Valcarcel and Guerrero erupted this past September and centered on a rape accusation against the WBO President in the Dominican Republic.
A call from Guerrero usually has some new tidbit into the drama that never ends.
"I expect for Valcarcel or one of his people to release a negative report against me in regards to false allegations in regards to Edison Miranda and Freddy Nuñez," said Guerrero
According to Mr. Guerrero, we can expect an accusation to surface out of the Dominican Republic in the following days regarding another one of his fighters, Dominican Republic based Colombian Edison Miranda.
So what's the accusation?
That Guerrero asked Edison Miranda, who is in Columbia, to physically harm Freddy Nuñez, a Dominican newspaper reporter, manager, and representative for the WBO in the Dominican Republic and Central America. Instead of following through with the request, Miranda left the country.
Miranda is a middleweight prospect in the Dominican Republic with a long rap sheet which includes gang membership, assaults, and other issues. His absence from the Dominican Republic during the end of the year was encouraged by Guerrero, since the fighter has spent more time in jail than fighting and could have a negative effect on his crown jewel, Joan Guzman.
As for Freddy Nuñez, Guerrero also says his background is shady. Guerrero informed Boxingtalk.com that Mr. Nuñez had been banned for life from Dominican amateur boxing due to selling travel visas to Mexico and the United States.
Most recently Nuñez, who manages Dominican female boxer Liliana Martinez, was assaulted during a card at Coliseo Santo Domingo on November 14th of this year. Ms. Martinez's boyfriend, who was deported back to the Dominican Republic from New York, punched Nuñez dropping him to the floor during the card that evening. Guerrero explained that perhaps the relationship between the female boxer and Nuñez was more than business.
Nuñez's reputation, once again according to Guerrero, is so poor that no one aided him for over an hour as he lay in a pool of his own blood. After the attack, Nuñez supposedly needed several medical procedures to repair his damaged face.
Guerrero said that any accusations of him asking Miranda to harm Nuñez are totally false and fabricated by Valcarcel.
All drama aside, boxing fans can expect Joan Guzman to fight in his homeland during the month of February. Guzman anxiously awaits a proposed bout between WBO one hundred and twenty-two pound number one contender Sod Looknongyantoy and number two contender Daniel Ponce de Leon to take place, so he can make a mandatory defense of his championship.
Editors Note: Boxingtalk.com found it rather strange that Mr. Guerrero was "surprised" by our initial reports, particularly when he admittedly expects far uglier rumors be surfacing out of the Dominican Republic in the coming days. Remember, the first six words of our December 27 report were, "Reliable sources from the Dominican Republic".
