Marcos Villegas, The Boxing Channel: "Robert, I know for quite some time you've been looking for a big, marquee matchup. It's finally here. You've got Andre Berto. Give me your thoughts on Andre Berto as an opponent and how the months leading up to this matchup have been for you."
Robert Guerrero: "Well, for one, you know, Andre Berto is a good fighter, a world champion. Fast, hard-hitting, very slick in the ring. He comes to fight every time. Everybody knows he's a very game fighter, and if you don't take him serious, he'll take you out. So we've gotta be 100% ready for him and preparing all the time. Leading up to now, I've always stayed in shape. Right after the Aydin fight, I took a week or two off and got right back on it. So I'm always ready to go. I'm excited that we got this fight, and like I was telling you guys before, I wanted to have another fight before the end of the year, and it's here."
Marcos Villegas, The Boxing Channel: "It's good to see, too, that you've been staying busy. You didn't know who the opponent would be. Did that affect the game plan at all coming into this bout. I know it kind of appeared out of nowhere, this fight with Berto. Does that affect how you fight him in the ring given the short time frame?"
Robert Guerrero: "No, not at all. Just having my father by my side, you know, he's the mastermind in the corner. He makes the plans and he does all the film study, me and him, and then we set what we've got to do. But the one nice thing is, you know, coming up in my career, I've had the fights that I've needed to be where I'm at. A lot of guys who were taken care of, they put them in with the fights they knew they were gonna win. I had the opposition in front of me that was gonna push me to the limit and make me learn, and throughout my career, that's what I got. So all that, it prepares you for when you're at that championship level, and whatever style you get in with, you're gonna be ready for."
Marcos Villegas, The Boxing Channel: "What he brings to the table, you feel that in your career so far, you've seen what he can bring, and you can adapt, and you don't have anything really to worry about, because you've seen that before, you've experienced that before."
Robert Guerrero: "Oh, yeah. I've experienced so many different styles. And myself being able to fight so many different styles, that's the one thing -- seeing all these styles out there, being able to adapt to them, and be prepared, as you've seen. Every time I fight, you see a whole different Robert Guerrero. And people get shocked, because they think they're gonna see one thing, and they see something else."
Marcos Villegas, The Boxing Channel: "Looking at you, as well, you're very reserved, very well-spoken. But lately you've been a bit more outspoken, kinda stirring the pot a bit with a few other fighters like Adrien Broner and Timothy Bradley. Where does that stem from? I'm not used to seeing that from you."
Robert Guerrero: "Well, you know, being a nice guy don't get you anywhere. I've always been the respectful guy, and just let it go, and I always believed in winning fights that are gonna get you there. Beating guys and getting into mandatory spots, you'd get the fight. It's happened through all the weight classes I've been through. I've been the nice guy, I've got in the position to be the mandatory, to get ready for the top guns in the weight class, and through being quiet, it never got me the fight. So now it's time to open up and speak out and speak my mind, and let everybody know that I'm here to fight and I ain't playing around."
Marcos Villegas, The Boxing Channel: "It stemmed frustration of not getting bouts. Tell me, how have you been dealing with that frustration throughout. Because for a long time, you've been wanting matchups with these big names at welterweight and junior welterweight as well."
Robert Guerrero: "It's been frustrating throughout my career, being in mandatory positions and not getting fights. It's one of the things you've just got to put up with, I guess. But if you put God first, everything's gonna be alright. You keep on truckin' and you'll get there. That's what I've been doing, it's just kept on trucking, and get there, and just keep winning. The more you win, the better it is."
Marcos Villegas, The Boxing Channel: "How close was that Bradley matchup? Was it pretty close to being signed? I know you pushed for it, and I saw your Tweets on Twitter, and immediately, you had a lot of fans backing you, because that was a really great fight to make."
Robert Guerrero: "It was exciting, man. It was pretty close, but it didn't happen. We got the Berto fight. Just as satisfied. I would have loved to fight Bradley. He just came off that win with Pacquiao, and having the opportunity to unify the division would have been awesome. But I'm happy with the fight that I've got right now. Berto's the main focus. You've gotta be 100% prepared for him, because if you're not prepared for him, you get a little sidetracked, he'll take you out."