Ghost Guerrero needs to be more lucid against Katsidis

Ghost Guerrero needs to be more lucid against Katsidis

Mark E. Ortega

Leave-it-in-the-ring.com

April 4, 2011

He hasn't lost in almost five years, has claimed world titles three times in two different weight classes, has fought on HBO in three of his last four and, at 28 years old, he should be hitting his physical prime. With credentials like those, one must assume the fighter in question is a pound-for-pound entrant that the casual fan is likely aware of.

Unfortunately, the fighter in discussion is Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, who on April 9^th will meet the always tough Michael Katsidis for the vacant interim WBA and WBO lightweight titles on the undercard of Erik Morales' return to Las Vegas against Marcos Maidana on HBO-PPV. Yes, its a vacant interim unification bout.

Apart from a loss to Orlando Salido in November of 2006 that was later overturned to a no contest when Salido tested positive for steroids, Guerrero has only suffered one defeat; a twelve round split decision at the hands of trial horse Gamaliel Diaz when the young fighter from Gilroy, California was on his way up the ladder. Guerrero avenged that loss six months later close to home in the Bay Area's Oracle Arena in Oakland, California when he stopped Diaz with a single brutal shot to the liver in the sixth round, though Guerrero struggled a bit prior to getting there.

Despite going 9-0 with one no decision since the Salido letdown, Guerrero [28-1-1, 18 KOs] is still looking for a career defining victory despite having claimed a world championship in two different weight classes.

In Katsidis [27-3, 22 KOs], Guerrero has found an opponent that will likely step up his watchability factor by at least ten as the Australian has hardly been in a dull fight over the course of his career. If there was ever an opportunity to remind the hardcore boxing fan that he is a fighter that demands respect, this is it. Guerrero promoter Golden Boy Promotions has done all they can in moving Guerrero into his current spot, featuring him on HBO programming four times since joining forces.

Guerrero has partially himself to blame for his lack of notoriety amongst boxing's casual fans. In fights against Malcolm Klassen and Joel Casamayor, he looked far from spectacular.

The Casamayor fight was particularly troubling. On the undercard of the rematch between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz last July, Guerrero had an opportunity to once and for all finish off one of the sport's active legends. At nearly forty years old, Casamayor was beyond what many would consider shot and had looked terrible against a journeyman level opponent in his most recent prior bout.

Guerrero dropped Casamayor in the second round but failed to put his foot on the gas. It was a terrible fight to watch and he seemed hesitant to press against a guy that had no pop and no desire to throw punches but was ripe for the taking. Guerrero did the opposite of seizing the opportunity to score a defining win and kept Casamayor in the fight to the point that the 39-year old Cuban even dropped Robert in the tenth.

Guerrero can't fully be to blame for his current standing, though. He has been the victim of misfortune just as much as his own enemy. His best recent performance came in his last fight against fellow Northern Californian Vicente Escobedo, where Guerrero pretty much shutout the former Olympian. The bout was televised on HBO where it belonged, but inexplicably was featured on a card that took place in Newark, New Jersey. If promoted right, the bout could have been big for the region local to both fighters and may have drummed up some additional press for one of the Bay's three current world champions [Andre Ward, Nonito Donaire Jr. being the other two].

Guerrero was also a victim of bad circumstance the first time he graced HBO's airwaves following the signing with Golden Boy. They gave Guerrero the spotlight by hosting a Boxing After Dark tripleheader in March of 2009 by putting it in San Jose, California, which is just minutes away from his hometown of Gilroy. The card also featured two fellow blue chippers that Golden Boy was looking to build in James Kirkland and Victor Ortiz, but it was Guerrero's bout that was perceived as the most competitive as it came against virtual unknown Indonesian Daud Yordan.

The fight looked like it was going to be a good one as Yordan showed some definite skill, but a cut in the second round above one of Guerrero's eyes forced a no decision and an early stoppage, much to the fighter's local support's chagrin.

On April 9^th, it could very well be his opponent's face that dictates the result of this fight. Katsidis is a well documented bleeder and even suffered a cut in preparation for this bout. A cut bad enough that Katsidis' team seemed intent on keeping the severity of it in limbo from the media on a conference call early last week.

Guerrero also has an opponent that will stand in front of him and will once and for all prove if he is worth watching from an excitement standpoint for the remainder of his career. If you can't make a good fight with Michael Katsidis, then you're just not an exciting fighter, plain and simple. He will also test Guerrero's resolve in that he is the first real lightweight he will step in the ring against since making the move to 135 permanently last April.

The bout promises to be the most competitive of the pay-per-view as the main event is being built on the novelty of an elderly Erik Morales fighting a killer at 140 pounds in Marcos Maidana. Many don't figure that one to be competitive, much the same way the James Kirkland bout against Nobuhiro Ishida doesn't figure to be. The other televised bout, a welterweight bout between Paulie Malignaggi and Jose Miguel Cotto may be slightly more competitive but definitely will feature the most lull in action on the card.

So the spotlight once again will shine on Robert Guerrero as he has an opportunity to steal the show this Saturday. For the sake of his career, he better be more lucid and less transparent against Katsidis. Will he finally carpe diem? For the sake of landing a big fight in the future, he sure better.