Guerrero primed for featherweight title bout after Diaz KO; ‘The
Ghost’ set to fight for first world championship or tackle No. 1
Cook
He can taste it. He can feel it.
Robert Guerrero has been waiting his entire life for this opportunity, and it’s almost here.
After his knockout of Gamaliel Diaz on June 23, ‘The Ghost’ is in line to fight for the World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight championship.
“Right now, I’m still kind of in disbelief that it’s right there,” Guerrero said Thursday of his first shot at the world title. “It’s been my dream and my goal since I was nine-years old. … That’s what the focus is. I want to be world champion.”
After handing Diaz, the WBC’s fourth-ranked fighter, his first-ever knockout, No. 6 Guerrero looks to sky upward in when the new rankings are released. With that will come one of two fights – a WBC title bout or a date with No. 1 Nicky Cook.
Featherweight champion Takashi Koshimoto of Japan is set to fight No. 15 Rudy Lopez. ‘The Ghost’ will either take on the winner of that match with the title on the line or fight Cook with the winner guaranteed a shot at the championship. Guerrero’s co-manager Bob Santos said whichever way the WBC rules, his fighter is in a prime position.
“We’re pretty sure Robert is going to fight Koshimoto for the title, (but) you never know,” said Santos. “It’s dependent on the WBC, the promoters and what can be put together. … Either way, he’s either fighting for the world title or he’s fighting Nicky Cook.”
‘The Ghost’ (18-1-1) rose to No. 2 in 2005 and had the opportunity to put himself on the doorstep of a title bout, but he lost a split decision to then-No. 7 Diaz in Lemoore, Calif. on Dec. 5. In hindsight, Guerrero said that loss might have been the best thing that could have happened to him.
“It’s an eye-opener,” the Gilroy native said of his first and only loss as a professional. “It makes you really think. It shows you (that) you can’t take anybody for granted, can’t take anybody light. You have to focus on every fighter like it’s a championship fight.”
“It made me really look at myself and see what I was doing wrong,” surmised Guerrero, who had scored a string of knockouts leading up to the first Diaz bout.
Asked what he learned he needed to improve on, ‘The Ghost’ said “dropping hands, stepping the wrong way. When you’re knocking people out, you get away with those bad habits.”
After scoring a third-round TKO of Sandro Marcos in San Jose on May 18, Guerrero opted for a rematch with Diaz, a risky decision.
“Most people in boxing thought we were crazy to take a rematch,” Santos said, “but that’s what he wanted to do.”
Attacking Diaz with an aggressive opening round, Guerrero showed early that he intended to make the most of his second shot – a bout that ended with ‘The Ghost’ delivering a crushing left-handed blow to Diaz’s chest to knock him out in the sixth round.
“To come back and avenge the loss and knock him out doing it, it feels good,” Guerrero said. “It shows fans and boxing around the world that the first time was a joke.”
Added Santos: “It was a huge statement. Showtime themselves told me … he obliterated that loss. What he did was, he not only went out and won the fight, he dominated. Knockouts in top-10 fights are huge statements.”
And the type of statement that may land Guerrero a chance at the world title in his next fight.
After Cook declined three bouts against Diaz, the British-based boxer may not want to face ‘The Ghost.’ Or the WBC may rule that Guerrero’s KO of Diaz was so dominant that he should fight the Koshimoto–Lopez winner instead of Cook.
‘The Ghost’ said he’s just anxious to get back in the ring, no matter how the cards fall.
“I want to fight the best in boxing,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who I fight for the title. I’m just happy to be fighting for it.”
After three straight fights within a short drive of his Gilroy residence, Guerrero recognizes that his next bout may well take him beyond the friendly confines of the Greater Bay Area and even out of the country for the first time. A potential fight against Koshimoto could be staged in Japan or a bout with Cook might take place in Britain. A third possibility is that Guerrero’s promoters may win the purse bid and elect to bring the prestigious fight to the Bay Area.
Said Santos: “He may even take less money to fight in front of the fans here.”
While noting the tremendous advantage of fighting in his “backyard,” Guerrero also said the thought of a resounding victory on foreign soil was tantalizing.
“I think it’s even better when you go into someone’s hometown and you put it on them and take it from them,” he said. “It even excites me more.”
After spending the last week recuperating from a Diaz-inflicted cut above his left eyebrow that required five stitches, Guerrero was set to resume training Friday. With his chance at the WBC title on the horizon, ‘The Ghost’ was brimming with excitement and anticipation.
“I want to have that shot at the featherweight title. God-willing, I win the title and then I keep moving up from there,” said Guerrero, who hopes to move up in weight classes to tackle new challenges.
But first things first. The thought of fighting for his first world championship was enough to keep Guerrero’s mind racing.
“It’s here and I’m so excited,” ‘The Ghost’ said. “I can’t wait for it.”
