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01/25/2005 Archived Entry: "Ghost Spooks Featherweight Champions!"
Ghost Spooks Featherweight Champions!
By Anthony Evans (Courtesy of http://secondsout.com/USA/news )
Robert Guerrero visits with Mia St. John
Unbeaten 'can't miss' featherweight prospect Robert 'the Ghost' Guerrero will return to action on April 1 in what his promoters hope will be his penultimate bout before challenging for a version of the world featherweight title.
The Ghost, 14-0-1 (7), has became a scorching hot property in his last two fights; his knockouts of former world title challenger Enrique Sánchez and top journeyman Cesar Figueroa on December 9 have enhanced the former amateur star's rep as a future world champion.
An ambitious fighter who works out every day, the Ghost is in a hurry to annex a world title at 126 lbs while his body will still allow it.
"I'm getting to that age when I'm going to have another growth spurt and I don't see myself able to say at 126lbs for a long time. I've scored six KO victories in a row now (plus a ridiculous technical draw against the play-acting Julian Rodriguez which should have been a first round KO) and am getting stronger - but I am also getting bigger. I'm a huge featherweight already at age 21 and definitely see myself climbing the ladder up the weight divisions as my career goes on. I want multiple title reigns in multiple weights (divisions).
"I want to do as much as I can in the featherweight division, though, while I am still here and want to win a world title at 126 lbs."
The Ghost is looking forward to the April 1 date, in a bout against an as yet unnamed opponent on a Showtime televised card. 'TBA' usually turns out to be a crappy fighter, however, promoter Dan Goossen wants a 'no joke' type of opponent for April Fool's Day.
"Dan has been trying to make the Rocky Juarez fight for a while but they're having trouble," the Ghost said. "They're having more trouble after I did what I did with Cesar Figueroa - that opened up a lot of people's eyes. I stopped him in the fourth round and if people didn't want to fight me before I think Dan will really have trouble matching me now."
It is for this reason - coupled with the fact that Goossen truly believes his 21 year old prodigy is ready - that Team Ghost are looking at a major world title before 2005 is out.
"I'm trying to make a world title fight now," Goossen told SecondsOut. "I think Robert doesn't need any more learning fights, he can beat anyone and everyone in the division right now. In his next fight, why not?"
The Ghost concurs: "Hopefully I can get a title shot something around September - November time. I feel I'll have reached another level again by then. I've still got a lot to learn from my trainer, John Bray, but I believe I'll have learned enough by the end of the summer to challenge for a world title."
Bray is a 34-year-old former heavyweight journeyman whose six round draw with Cliff 'Twin Tyson' Couser in 1995 was probably the highlight of a 14-3-2 (5) career of underachievement. The Californian is highly regarded within the trade as a chief second and several insiders believe he could develop into a major trainer of champions.
Guerrero met the ex-pro in California a couple of years ago and shares a great relationship with him. However, the Ghost's decision to work full-time with the virtually untested Bray raised a few eyebrows, especially considering promoter Dan Goossen's brother, the widely successful Joe, wanted to become the Ghost's full-time coach.
"Joe was great but I like to feel 100% comfortable when I am training and John was the gym I felt most comfortable with," the Guerrero said. "I felt that John was the best guy to take me to where I am going because he's been a fighter, he's got experience (of the ring) and has a lot of technical knowledge not just as a trainer but as a fellow fighter. Every time I train I learn a lot; he works with what I have and doesn't try to make me something I am not, or change my style, he helps me do what I do best even better."
In addition to instructing Guerrero on what to do, Bray also has first had experience of what the Ghost must NOT do, having not achieved all that he could in his 1992-1998 career.
The Ghost said: "He could have been one of the premier heavyweights but took the wrong road. John has been there and because of that he tells me all the time that boxing is only a small window of opportunity and that that window gets smaller and smaller every year and fight by fight. He's helping open my eyes to that more and we can talk about things like that as men."
Like winning a world title in the next 11 months?
"That's the plan," laughed the Ghost. "But we have a lot of hard work to do, too."
Photo courtesy of www.theghostguerrero.com
