Out to prove he’s no quitter, Robert
”
The Ghost
”
Guerrero is looking to bring fight fans back into his
corner.
Three months removed from his last bout, Guerrero has heard
plenty of second-hand criticism.
”
There’s a lot of talk,
”
Guerrero said at a press conference Wednesday.
”
I don’t let it get to me. Nobody has said nothing to me (in
person).
”
SAN JOSE
Out to prove he’s no quitter, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero is looking to bring fight fans back into his corner.
Three months removed from his last bout, Guerrero has heard plenty of second-hand criticism.
“There’s a lot of talk,” Guerrero said at a press conference Wednesday. “I don’t let it get to me. Nobody has said nothing to me (in person).”
Taking on Daud Yordan March 7 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, the fight was stopped in the second round after Guerrero suffered a deep cut over his right eye following a headbutt by Yordan. The result of the bout was a no-contest decision, which left the 7,000-plus in attendance less than satisfied as boos rained down from the rafters.
HBO commentator Max Kellerman questioned Guerrero’s toughness in front of a national TV audience, wondering why Guerrero would allow the doctor to stop the fight.
“The thing is in life, there’s the reality and there’s the perception,” said Bob Santos, Guerrero’s co-manager. “Max Kellerman doesn’t say what he said, it never would have gotten that out of control. He spearheaded it.”
Guerrero (23-1-1, 16 KOs) now has the chance to turn the lance on his critics. Tonight he will be back at the same site of his most recent bout, this time taking on Mexico’s Efren “Huracan” Hinojosa (30-5-1, 17 KOs) in a card being televised at 7 p.m. on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights.”
“Last fight was a disappointment to me, the fans, and I gotta get right back on it,” Guerrero said. “[Criticism] comes with the territory. Boxing is a rough sport and everyone wants to see a rough fight. Unfortunately, the doctor made a decision and stopped the fight.”
Santos says those who have dropped the 26-year-old Guerrero, a former two-time IBF featherweight champ, down a peg, suffer from a selective memory. Guerrero was cut twice in his career before his last bout, and referees simply told him to continue in those fights. Both times he said the same thing that he said while fighting Yordan – that he couldn’t see. One of those fights was a rematch against Gamaliel Diaz, the only person to beat Guerrero fair and square, and the other was against Freddy Castro. Guerrero won both bouts, the latter being accomplished with a broken shoulder to boot.
Santos also offers up the fact that Guerrero stayed mentally sharp to beat Martin Honorio just days after finding out his wife had been diagnosed with leukemia. Her cancer is now in remission, which has put Guerrero at ease as he trained in Los Angeles for six weeks. Guerrero’s camp, however, still can’t help but feel the Gilroy native is being unfairly slighted by the media.
“The insiders in boxing know this kid has a 105 mph fastball,” Santos said, raising his left hand. “And he can put your lights out anytime.”
The hope of Guerrero’s and those representing him is that tonight’s bout will showcase a fighter ready for the biggest stage. An impressive victory could catapult Guerrero into an Aug. 22 card in Houston that is expected to be one of the biggest of the summer.
“Everybody is focusing on what happened in the last fight, but I want you to ask him what’s going to happen next fight,” said Golden Boy Promotions’ Robert Diaz. “We’re gonna get through [tonight], we’re gonna go for the world title, (and) we’re going to go for bigger and better things.”
Landing a bigger and better fight has been challenging, Santos said. Yordan was offered a rematch against Guerrero for twice the amount of money he made in the first fight and passed. Juan Diaz has been offered a fight with Guerrero on three different occasions, Santos said, and passed each time.
“If he’s such an easy fight, why doesn’t (Juan Manuel) Marquez or (Juan) Diaz sign up for the fight,” Santos said.
Guerrero has made a decision to move up another weight class for tonight’s bout, tipping the scales at 134 pounds at Thursday’s weigh-in. Hinojosa was a pound and a half over the lightweight limit during his first attempt. He was still eight ounces over the 135-pound mandate on his second try, but Guerrero’s camp consented to go forward with the bout regardless.
An impressive victory as a lightweight could show Guerrero, who relinquished his featherweight title to move up a division, is ready for anything the 130- or 135-pound contenders have to offer.
“I’m excited because the 135 weight class is packed,” Guerrero said. “I can make that jump no problem, and that’s what I’m hoping to show.
“I feel like a tank right now.”
Guerrero knows you’re only as good as your last bout. Recording a 16th straight knockout in victory would go a long way in shooting down his critics.
