Tim Bradley: War of Words with Robert Guerrero Escalates

The war of words between the camps of WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley and interim WBC champion Robert Guerrero is escalating. And it's beginning to get personal.

Bradley's trainer, Joel Diaz, is beginning to make a name for himself as the mouthpiece of the team, and his latest comments about a potential Bradley-Guerrero match didn't sit well with Guerrero's camp.

"This Joel Diaz looks like a bigger joke with every article. I guess he doesn't realize the guy who just beat his fighter came up from 108-pounds," Guerrero co-manager Luis DeCubas told Rick Reeno of BoxingScene.com.

DeCubas was taking a dig at Bradley's disputed win over Manny Pacquiao and also Diaz's comments that Guerrero was a 130-pound fighter, not a welterweight.

He was also critical of the other names mentioned as possible foes for Bradley, calling Ruslan Provodnikov an "unknown Russian" and Lamont Peterson a guy who lost 11 of 12 rounds to Bradley in their first fight.

These comments were in response to those made on Thursday by Diaz to Bradley's local newspaper, The Desert Sun.

“It’s not a fight for Tim, it’s a fight for Robert,” Diaz told Leighton Ginn of The Desert Sun.

“Instead of moving forward after being on that stage a couple months ago, we’re taking a step back fighting Robert Guerrero. Robert Guerrero is not at the level of those guys —of Floyd, Cotto, Pacquiao."

Diaz also pointed out that he was afraid that Bradley was in a no-win situation with the fight. A win over Robert Guerrero being meaningless, and a loss potentially devastating.

These comments obviously did not sit well with Guerrero's camp, and likely not with many in his own fighter's outfit either. 

Bradley, who has stated a desire to return in December, has had a hard time securing an opponent for the fight. 

He had hoped to face Manny Pacquiao in a rematch of their controversial first fight, but was spurned when the Pacman elected instead to face Juan Manuel Marquez for the fourth time.