Freshman pro Guerrero ‘fired up’ for win
The last time he fought he was too conservative. This time he
plans to be explosive.
On Thursday night at San Jose’s HP Pavilion Gilroy’s own
Robert
”
The Ghost
”
Guerrero
– the No. 7 ranked featherweight in the world by the World
Boxing Council – will be fighting for the first time in front of a
Bay Area crowd since he turned professional.
Freshman pro Guerrero ‘fired up’ for win
The last time he fought he was too conservative. This time he plans to be explosive.
On Thursday night at San Jose’s HP Pavilion Gilroy’s own Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero – the No. 7 ranked featherweight in the world by the World Boxing Council – will be fighting for the first time in front of a Bay Area crowd since he turned professional.
And this time the 23-year-old fighter promises that he’ll get back on track after suffering a disappointing 12-round decision loss last December to Mexico’s Gamaliel Diaz by just a single point.
“I’m really fired up and pumped up to get going again,” said Guerrero, who hasn’t stopped training since his December setback. “This is going to be the first time that I’ll be really, really close to home. I fought one time in Monterey in my third or fourth pro fight but fighting in San Jose is more exciting.”
Guerrero, who is now 17-1-1, will be the main event at Fight Night at the Tank, which is expected to include four other bouts as well.
Guerrero’s opponent will be Sandro Marcos (25-14-2, 21KOs) of Mazatlan, Mexico in the 10-round non-title bout.Â
Although Guerrero has never seen his opponent or watched him on film, he’s confident that he will get the job done and be back on track for a possible title shot by the end of the year.
“I don’t even know the name of the guy I’m fighting. I’m just ready to go,” said Guerrero, who has spent most of the past week training in Las Vegas and in the Los Angeles area. “I know nothing about him. I’m just going to try hard and go back to my old school style of fighting and be ready for anything.”
In Guerrero’s fight against Diaz, he was criticized for not coming out aggressive and taking the fight too him. This time, Guerrero is going to change his game plan.
“I learned a lot from that fight,” said the Gilroy High alumnus. “There was so much that I did wrong. I learned never to look past guys. I’m not going to take anyone for granted again. If I had won that fight, this one probably would have been for a world title.”
Prior to the loss to losing his North American Boxing Federation Featherweight title to Diaz, the WBC had ranked Guerrero as high as No. 2. But even after slipping down five spots to No. 7, he is still the youngest highest ranked fighter in the world.
“A good fight here will get me back on track,” said Guerrero, who is ecstatic about fighting in front of a hometown crowd. “I’ve been training hard and I’ll be excited to see all of the fans from Gilroy and San Jose. I really want to put on a great show for them.”
To get ready for this fight Guerrero has been training hard for the past six months. In recent weeks he’s also been sparring hard, and has been training more with his father, Ruben Sr., when he’s at home in Gilroy.
“He’s been helping me with my conditioning and getting more involved like he was when I was younger,” said Guerrero, who trains at the Sixth Street Boxing Gym in Gilroy when he’s at home. “He’s helping me a lot.”
When at home Guerrero also likes to find time to jog along Canada Road in Gilroy.
It’s clear for this bout that he wants to go back to basics – the things that got him to where he is in the first place.
“The last fight I was too conservative,” said Guerrero. “This time I’m coming to do damage, and just let it fly.”
By fight time Guerrero is expected to weigh in at 128 pounds. On Tuesday, he was 133.
“Those extra pounds are just water weight,” he said. “That weight comes off just by cutting my water intake down and sweating. By fight night, I’ll be where I need to be.”
His publicist agrees.
“That last fight really lit a fire under him,” said Mario Serrano. “He’s really ready to go and he’s going to come out real aggressive.”
Tickets for Fight Night at the Tank are available through Ticketmaster.com
