Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero 38-6-1 (20) has confirmed his desire to keep boxing following his 10-round unanimous decision victory over Andre Berto 32-6 (24) at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday night.
The 40-year-olds were having a rematch of their bout that took place nine years ago and was won by Guerrero, who shocked Berto early by dropping him in the first and second rounds before going on to win a 12-round unanimous decision in what was just his second fight at welterweight after jumping up two weight classes.
Since that fight Guerrero has remained somewhat active, boxing 11 times although he was coming off a two-year layoff. Berto, by contrast, had boxed seven times, with his last bout taking place five years ago.
Age and ring rust made for a slower contest the second time around, with Guerrero proving to busier and sharper throughout the fight to win by scores of 98-92, 99-91 and 98-92.
The bout took place on the undercard of the WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight title fight between David Morrell Jr 10-0 (9) and Sena Agbeko 28-3 (22) on the final card to be aired by Showtime Championship Boxing after the network announced it was walking away from the sport after 37 years.
“I felt great. I felt great in the ring,” Guerrero said. “I said in the fighter meeting that I was going to box a little more and work on my jab and foot work.
“Berto is a tough character. He’s fast, he’s strong. He tied me up a lot. I wasn’t trying to hit him in the back of the head he kept turning. But I’m pumped and I’m excited. Let’s see what’s next after this. I’m excited to close out Showtime. Showtime, we out!
“I had to fight smarter. Last time I had a chip on my shoulder when I fought Berto. I wanted to walk him down and bang it out with him. This time I used my boxing skills.
“You’ve watched me since I was 122 pounds. You knew I could box and be on the outside. So that’s what I did today. I’m excited. You know, as my father says, I’m 40 years old, the older the bull, the stiffer the horns.
“Showtime’s always been good to me all the way from ShoBox to now. I’m glad I got to close it out. Thank you very much Showtime. I appreciate it.”
Guerrero showed he had more left in the tank than Berto, controlling the range with his jab and punishing Berto on the inside. While both combatants landed similar percentages of their power punches, Guerrero was the busier fighter. According to CompuBox he reached double digits in landed punches in eight of the 10 rounds, while Berto did it in four of the ten rounds, most notably in the last three rounds. Guerrero also held a significant 53-23 advantage in body punches landed.
“I came off a long layoff to try to avenge one of my losses and I was really trying tonight,” said Berto. “My timing was off, but I tried my best. I love this game, but I came up short.”
Guerrero was happy enough with his performance to suggest another world title run.
“I want to see how far I can go,” said Guerrero. “Maybe I can get back into a world title fight, what do you all think about that? Let me tell you, Mexican power baby!”
