Robert
”
The Ghost
”
Guerrero’s return to the ring was a rousing success Friday night
at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Guerrero moved up to the lightweight division and took the first
step in his quest to win a world title in a third weight class by
defeating Roberto Arrieta of Argentina via TKO with 29 seconds left
in Round 8.
LAS VEGAS
Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero’s return to the ring was a rousing success Friday night at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in the return of TeleFutura’s ‘Solo Boxeo Tacate.”
Guerrero moved up to the lightweight division and took the first step in his quest to win his fourth world title in a third weight class by defeating Roberto Arrieta of Argentina via TKO 29 seconds into Round 8.
The three-time world champion said before the bout that he expected to come out a little sluggish due to the eight-month layoff. However, he voiced little concern that he would be able to find his groove.
The first round started out slow and Guerrero’s ring rust showed, using a pawing jab to measure the range of Arrieta. He landed two stiff lefts before the bell rang to win the round easily as Arrieta landed almost none of his punches.
Round 2 started in the same fashion until midway through the round when Guerrero unloaded a lighting-quick one-two combination, sending Arrieta to the canvas. Arrieta was able to get up and appeared to be OK. Guerrero tried to put Arrieta away, connecting another vicious right to the body before the bell sounded, saving Arrieta.
Guerrero controlled Round 3 until his opponent placed a clean right to the head in the middle of the round. The Argentinian was unable to follow it up, and moments later the Ghost dropped Arrieta for the second time with a left to the head.
Guerrero came out more aggressive in the fourth and sent his over-matched opponent off balance with a right hook to the jaw. He continued with more of the same, landing a right hook to the body before the round came to an end. Arrieta once again failed to pull the trigger with regularity.
“My corner was telling me to put my combinations together,” Guerrero said after the fight.
Guerrero owned Round 5 as well. However, Arrieta showed signs of life, landing a couple of clean shots at the beginning of Round 6 to wake the crowd up, which had been lulled to sleep by the one-sided domination.
Arrieta made the mistake of trading punches with the pride of Gilroy and took the worst of the exchanges.
“I was rusty but its hard to hit a guy when all he does is run,” Guerrero said. “Once he felt my power, he didn’t want to fight anymore.”
Arrieta was game in the seventh, but just wasn’t able to connect as Guerrero started to attack his body more frequently.
In the eighth, Guerrero decided he had put in enough work and went for the knockout. Another vicious right-left combination sent Arrieta spiraling to the canvas. Arrieta rose to his feet, but referee Jay Nady had no choice but to stop the fight.
“Guerrero hits hard but he doesn’t really put his combinations together,” Arrieta said. “The main difference is that he is 27 and in his prime and I am 35 years old.”
The Ghost didn’t take too kindly to the post-fight criticism, yet responded with ease.
“When a guy runs it’s not so easy to put combinations together, when you are chasing him around,” Guerrero quipped.
When asked who he wants to fight next, Guerrero said, “I want to fight the best. I want Juan Manuel Marquez.”
Marquez is scheduled to defend his title in a rematch with Juan Diaz on July 31 in Las Vegas. Marquez is considered to be the best fighter from Mexico at the moment.
Note:
If the name Nady sounds familiar, Jay is the uncle of Chicago Cubs outfielder and former Salinas High baseball star Xavier Nady.
