Guerrero wins by TKO in eighth round
Like I can only hope most Gilroyans were doing last night, I was glued to a couch for Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero’s fight against former world champion Enrique Sanchez televised on Showtime.
If not, then you missed a heck of a fight.
Since it was scheduled for 11 p.m. in both the Eastern and Pacific time zones, my friend who I watched the fight with already had heard the outcome from someone earlier in the evening. But I told him I wanted to see for myself, so he kept it to himself.
It was the biggest fight of Guerrero’s career, so I got chills just from the opening announcement of Robert Guerrero out of Gilroy, California, by the fight analysts as they broke down his brief 13-fight pro career.
Wow, he had much less ring time than his experienced opponent who was a southpaw fighter as well. But Guerrero was still confident he was the better fighter.
And he showed he was the more polished boxer from the onset and by the second round began pummeling Sanchez, opening a big gash over his right eye.
While Sanchez bled all over his white trunks, Guerrero went to work with combinations of power punches to the head.
At the end of the eighth round, Sanchez’s eye was bleeding so badly that the ring doctor stopped the fight, giving Guerrero a TKO victory by way of medical disqualification.
I could see the stoppage coming any round, but trainer/father Ruben Guerrero took no chances in the corner, telling his son he had two more rounds to victory before the decision was made to end it.
The fighter called ‘The Ghost’ took one big step toward his goal of becoming the first world champion born and raised in Gilroy.
The sweetest reference of the night came when the TV analyst commented on why Guerrero was dangerously fighting with his mouth open, which makes it easier for a blow to break his jaw.
“I know why Guerrero fights with his mouth open,” he said. “He’s from the Garlic Capital of the World so he’s trying to knock him out with his breath.”
He didn’t need the garlic. By the end of the night,, Guerrero proved to the boxing world with his fists that he may be only 21, but he is already a top contender in the featherweight division.
Scott Forstner is the sports editor for The Dispatch. To respond to his column, please e-mail him at sp****@gi************.com
