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Robert Guerrero, preparing to challenge welterweight titleholder and pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 4, was arrested Thursday morning at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York for attempting to board a flight to Las Vegas with an unloaded gun.

Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KOs), who turned 30 on Wednesday, was to be arraigned on gun possession charges later Thursday.

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said that Guerrero has been charged with illegally traveling with an unloaded pistol and three unloaded high-capacity bullet magazines. The weapon and 15-bullet clips were discovered during a routine pre-flight check-in, Brown said.

"I hope that Mr. Guerrero fights better than he thinks," Brown said. "For anyone who hasn't gotten the message, let me be crystal clear. You cannot bring an unlicensed weapon -- loaded or unloaded -- into this county or this city. And if you do you will be arrested and face felony charges."

Brown said Guerrero is charged with one count of criminal possession of a firearm and three counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison.

"Earlier this year, New York State enacted the nation's toughest gun restrictions -- the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013," Brown said. "One provision of that law is that the penalty for possessing an unloaded firearm is raised from being a Class A misdemeanor to being a Class E felony.

"It is therefore more important than ever that if a passenger chooses to travel with a weapon, they should first acquaint themselves with the weapon laws of the jurisdiction that they are visiting and comply with any and all legal requirements. Otherwise, they may find themselves being arrested and charged with a felony -- as is what occurred in this case."

According to the charges, Guerrero presented a locked gun box to a Delta Airlines ticket agent at about 6:46 a.m. as he checked in for his flight and it contained an unloaded Smith and Wesson M&P .40-caliber handgun and three unloaded magazines with the capacity to hold 15 rounds of ammunition. At that point, police were called.

According to the police report, Guerrero allegedly told authorities that he possessed the unloaded firearm when he arrived in New York from Virginia on Monday.

Guerrero, who is from Gilroy, Calif., and is training for the fight in Las Vegas, had been on the East Coast for a few days to make several appearances to promote the Showtime pay-per-view fight against Mayweather at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Guerrero, a Christian who has spoken publicly about his faith, appeared on the "700 Club" with Pat Robertson in Norfolk, Va., then visited ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., to tape interviews and hosted a media lunch in New York on Tuesday.

After wrapping up the promotional blitz, he was headed back to Las Vegas to resume training for the fight.

A source told ESPN.com that Guerrero has a permit to carry a gun in California, but is not licensed in New York, where gun laws are among the strictest in the nation.

How -- or if -- his arrest will impact the fight is unclear. Showtime spokesman Chris DeBlasio told ESPN.com the network had no comment.

Guerrero's co-manager, Luis DeCubas Jr., who was traveling with him, could not be reached. He did not respond to a text message and his voicemail was full.

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