Necks were craned, cameras flashed and clamoring filled the room
as a dapper 15-year-old humbly signed autographs.
GILROY
Necks were craned, cameras flashed and clamoring filled the room as a dapper 15-year-old humbly signed autographs.
Fans in attendance, totaling roughly 70 at Dutchman’s Pizza, called him “the next big thing” as he stood next to reigning IBF feathwerweight champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero – who calls him “little brother”.
Make it official: Gilroy has a new rising star in the ring in Randy Guerrero.
On Friday, the lean 5-foot-6, 119-pound right-hander from Silver & Black Boxing Club met with friends, family and well-wishers to celebrate his entry into the sport – one he plans to emulate Robert’s success in.
“He expects to be the best,” said his father and trainer Ruben Guerrero. “I think he’s on his way – he’s been training hard and picking things up fast.”
That wouldn’t surprise anyone who’s happened to see his sparring partner. Randy has spent the past year trading jabs with Robert while building up his amateur resume at the featherweight level.
Randy won his first title belt recently at the Hollister Motorcycle Rally and is currently 6-0. He won his last two bouts with early knockouts.
“He does hit pretty hard,” Robert admitted while smiling next to his IBF championship belts. “He’s got fast hands and good technique.”
Next came arguably the biggest compliment of Randy’s young career:
“To be totally honest,” Robert began. “He’s a lot better than I was when I was his age.”
In retrospect, it was exactly what Robert hoped he’d be saying one day after he helped spark Randy’s passion for the sport. That happened last December, when Randy cut his teeth fighting other amateurs at a boxing camp in Los Angeles.
“That was crazy,” he recalled. “The competition was intense, and I just fell in love with it.”
Since then, Randy’s mornings have started a lot earlier. He runs five miles regularly before school and hits the canvas for most of the afternoon.
Meanwhile, he’s shown continued success in the classroom.
“He’s just a great kid that works hard,” said Dutchman’s Pizza co-owner Jim Shuster, who helps sponsor Randy. “He’s putting in the time – he’s got some big dreams to chase.”
Those go well beyond championship belts. Randy hopes to don a gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
“That’s my only goal right now,” Randy said. “I want to be best in the world, but it’s going to take a lot of practice.”
Randy’s vision quest continues Tuesday with a bout at Frisco Boxing, a challenging San Francisco-based event.
“There’s always good boxers there, so he’s definitely going to get a good fight in,” Shuster said. “It’s his chance to shine. People are going to know about him soon.”
