IBF Featherweight champion Robert
”
The Ghost
”
Guerrero could be in for his toughest task to date.
Gilroy – IBF Featherweight champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero could be in for his toughest task to date.
Sources close to Guerrero’s camp have stated the Gilroy fighter will be present at a press conference for the Bernard Hopkins-Winkey Wright fight (HBO PPV, 6pm) on Saturday at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, to announce a Sept. 15 title defense against Rocky Juarez.
The fight should add clout to a card that already featured Juan Manuel Marquez defending his WBC Super Featherweight title against Jorge Barrios, Kassim Ouma taking on ESPN’s first “Contender” winner Sergio Mora, and Steve Forbes fighting Francisco Bojado.
The matchup of Guerrero and Juarez is intriguing because it pits two fighters with completely different styles, at two different stages in their careers.
Guerrero (20-2-1, 13 KOs), is the biggest fighter in the featherweight division with his long 5′ 10″ frame, and is coming off a triumphant win over Spend Abazi in front of a hostile crowd in Copenhagen, Denmark. Abazi was unable to answer the bell in the ninth round and as a result the vacant IBF championship belt returned to its rightful owner. Guerrero had previously lost the title to Orlando Salido, who was later stripped of the belt when a post-fight drug test revealed Salido had taken steroids. Guerrero is only 24-years-old and will soon be entering the prime of his career.
Juarez (25-3, 18 KOs) is short, stocky 27-year-old and will most likely be viewing this fight as one of his last chances at a title. The Houston native recently lost back-to-back fights against former WBC Super Featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera (who lost his title to Marquez in March), and will be moving down a weight class to take on Guerrero.
