Ghost takes on overseas champ
Robert
”
The Ghost
”
Guerrero is thrilled to have reclaimed the IBF Featherweight
Championship of the world
– and he’s equally happy to be back home on U.S. soil.
Ghost takes on overseas champ
Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero is thrilled to have reclaimed the IBF Featherweight Championship of the world – and he’s equally happy to be back home on U.S. soil.
“I’ve never been booed in my life,” said the two-time world champion from Gilroy.
But that’s exactly the greeting that Guerrero got last week when he arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark after a 20-hour flight where he squared off against hometown hero Spend Abazi at the Falconer Center in the title bout.
Those boos that greeted Guerrero intensified as he entered the ring draped in the American Flag, and the booing continued throughout the entire fight.
“It actually motivated me,” said Guerrero, who knocked out his opponent in the eighth round to take back the title. “It pumped me up. The whole arena was booing so much that I couldn’t wait for the bell to ring.”
And Guerrero couldn’t wait for a chance to win back the title that was rightfully his, even if he had to fight for the first time outside of the United States.
Just days after losing to Mexico’s Orlando Salido in Las Vegas in a nationally televised fight on Showtime last fall, Guerrero learned that the IBF had opted to vacate the featherweight title after it was discovered that Salido had tested positive for illegal steroids.
The discovery gave Guerrero new life and allowed the former champ to instantly vault to the top of the IBF ranking list, which paved way for the fight against Abazi, who was the No. 4 ranked challenger.
Guerrero entered the ring as the No. 3 ranked IBF fighter since the top two rankings were vacated after the controversial bout.
Heading into the fight with Abazi, Guerrero knew that he had to hit him hard, quick and often – and most importantly knock him out. After all, the fight was in hostile territory and Abazi, 28, hadn’t lost a bout in six years.
“When you go overseas to fight, your back is up against the wall,” said the 23-year-old champ. “I knew I had to go out there and knock him out. It was in his hometown. The crowd was all for him and I didn’t know what was going on in the judges’ minds.”
With those thoughts hovering in his mind Guerrero made sure he didn’t waste anytime in the ring and got to work quickly.
Guerrero’s first goal was to utilize and establish his jab in order to set up “the power shots.”
Abazi was the recipient of those power shots in the third and fifth rounds as Guerrero connected on straight combination shots that sent Abazi to the canvass.
By the eighth round it was clear The Ghost had the hometown hero second-guessing himself. Finally, after receiving ample doses of combination shots that left Abazi cut over the right eye and bleeding from the nose, his corner opted to stop the fight.
“I wanted to keep stepping it up even more every round,” said the two-time world champion after picking up the TKO. “I had to do that to knock him out.”
The win improved Guerrero’s record to 20-1-1 with 13 knockouts. Abazi is now 35-2.
Guerrero’s first title defense is expected to take place in the late spring. For now, he plans on taking a few months off to relax and spend time with his wife Casey, daughter and newborn baby boy, Robert Guerrero, Jr., who was born while Guerrero was in Denmark.
After that, he looks forward to defending his title somewhere in the U.S.
“I hope it’s in the Bay Area or somewhere,” he said. “As long as it’s not out of the country, I’m cool with it.”
John Bagley can be reached at
jb*****@pi**********.com
