Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero floated and stung fast and early for
first round knock out.
Lemoore – Forget the elbow injury. Forget the nearly six-month layoff. Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero is as dangerous in the ring as ever.
The Gilroy native made mincemeat of Mexico’s Sammy Ventura Friday night, knocking his last-minute foe out just 2:05 into the first round of their scheduled 12-round NABF featherweight title fight at the Palace Indian Gaming Center in Lemoore.
Under a full moon and clear skies at the Palace outdoor arena, Guerrero knocked Ventura (22-15, 17 KOs) down twice before landing the short left hook to the jaw that put the righty out of Cardenas down and out.
The Ghost improved his record to 16-0-1 with 9 KOs, making it very likely that his next scheduled fight on Dec. 2 will be at least a WBC eliminator bout – possibly a title fight.
“He’s still making progress, but you saw what this kid can do,” said Guerrero’s trainer John Bray after the fight.
Indeed, the Gilroy native controlled every scant second of the bout. After taking a few moments to feel out Ventura with exploratory punches, Guerrero sent an explosive left jab to the chin that planted a stunned Ventura on the canvas.
Moments later, a neat left-right combo again sent Ventura to the deck. Just seconds after Ventura assured the referee he was fine, he was back down, courtesy of the wicked left hook from the Ghost that ended the fight.
“I saw that (Ventura) kept lifting his chin on my jab,” Guerrero said in his dressing after the fight, explaining how the opportunity for the quick knockout presented itself.
“My elbow felt perfect, no problems,” added the NABF champ. The Ghost had been sidelined for the summer as he recovered from a nagging elbow injury sustained in his April NABF title fight with Adrian Valdez, which Guerrero won by knockout in the 12th and final round.
As is customary at Guerrero fights, a black T-shirted crew of Ghost supporters from Gilroy was a vocal presence, reveling from the seats behind their fighter’s corner on each knockdown, then erupting into cheers when the fight was called.
Guerrero’s co-manager Bob Santos said a Dec. 2 fight for the Ghost is definitely on, possibly at San Jose’s HP Pavilion. Santos said there was a strong possibility that the fight would be an elimination bout, setting up the following fight as a featherweight title bout, most likely for the World Boxing Council belt.
