In his much-anticipated Bay Area debut, Robert
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The Ghost
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Guerrero is ready to face Sandro Marcos in Thursday night’s
Fight Night at the Tank
n By Ana Patejdl Sports Editor
Gilroy – Whether he’s shopping at local stores or going to the barbershop, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero hears the buzz about his Bay Area boxing debut at Thursday’s Fight Night at the Tank.
“From what I hear, a lot of people from Gilroy will be there,” Guerrero said Tuesday. “Everyone is just as psyched as I am.”
And “The Ghost” is ready to get back in the ring. Not only will tomorrow’s fight be Guerrero’s first local fight, it will also be the 23-year-old’s first chance to show how well he can rebound from a setback.
“It’s going to be the first time ever I’ve fought after a loss and a lot of people are curious to see how I’m going to look,” Guerrero said. “But I’m going to put up a good show and fight the way I used to fight.”
In other words, more explosively and aggressively than he did in his first-ever career loss to Gamaliel Diaz at December’s title fight in Lemoore.
Guerrero (16-1-1, 9KO’s), who is currently ranked as the No. 7 World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight, will be taking on Mexico’s Sandro Marcos (25-14-2, 21KO’s) in the 10-round main event.
The two fighters seem to have enough differences between them. At 32, Marcos is an older, more experienced boxer. He also stands about three inches shorter than the younger Guerrero, in addition to having an orthodox stance.
But the two do have one thing in common: A loss to Diaz. Marcos fell to the young Mexican fighter in January of 2005, 11 months before the Ghost did.
“(Marcos) is a rough, tough, durable guy. He’s going to come in and I’m sure he’s got a good cheat sheet from Diaz,” said John Bray, Guerrero’s trainer. “But we’re well-adjusted and it shouldn’t be a problem.”
In his loss to Diaz, Guerrero admits he wasn’t as focused as he should have been. But he said that won’t be the case when he enters the ring at HP Pavilion.
“You know, when you’re too patient and worried about looking slick and pleasing the crowd, you’re playing catch up,” Guerrero said. “This time, I’m going to come out and fire a lot more shots…The plan is to be explosive and more aggressive and attack him with body shots to slow him down.”
Bray calls it a combination of the “old” and “new” Guerrero.
“I think that there have been adjustments made in the gym with his style, his stance, him being busier with the jab,” Bray said.
Before heading to pre-fight training camp for two weeks in Los Angeles, Guerrero trained harder and more often in Gilroy with his father Ruben, who helped him reach success early in his career. In L.A., the Gilroy boxer fine-tuned his skills by sparring with Bobby Pacquiao, brother of Philipino star Manny Pacquiao, and IBF super bantamweight champion Israel Vasquez.
“He’s going to be explosive, but very skilled. A controlled fury,” Bray said. The trainer also sees tomorrow night’s fight as a chance for Guerrero to re-validate himself in the boxing world.
“To me it’s another step toward that world title and every fight is the most important of his career,” Bray said. “But because of the Diaz fight, winning is not enough. He’s got to be dominant.”
