Lost a bit in between the madness of last weekend’s ‘Double Trouble’ card on HBO and this Saturday’s Vegas showdown between Jr. Lightweight champions Marco Antonio Barrera and Robbie Peden is another fight of noteworthy significance this weekend. Rising featherweight Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero gets back to work in Lemoore, California on Friday night and while the Pacquiao’s and Barrera’s of the world are getting the prime time spotlight, the young Gilroy native knows it’s only a matter of time before his full presence is felt in the fight game.
Robert has been a long time friend at Bragging Rights Corner and we talked with the southpaw stylist to catch up on all things boxing. ‘The Ghost’ tells us about his sparring sessions with Manny Pacquiao, his thoughts on the weekend’s Pay Per View event, and what we can expect from him in the very near future. Here’s what he had to say…
Fighting this Friday, September 16th in Lemoore, CA…
‘I’m excited to be getting back in the ring. I’m ready to start getting busy and to make that run for that title. Every time I fight I am looking to make a statement and this Friday should be a great night.
Going to work at the Wild Card… ‘I was getting rounds in with Manny Pacquiao and Israel Vasquez at the Wild Card gym. It was a great experience for me. Being in there with world champions will teach you a lot. To me it’s about going to work and being a professional. They are the veterans and I’m the young fighter coming up and I have a lot to learn.
Respecting Pacquiao…
‘When I sparred Pacquiao the sessions weren’t extremely intense, it was more like work for both of us. We have great mutual respect for each other and know it’s all about getting the work done and not trying to get one over on one another. Manny has tremendous hand speed and foot speed, and he has power too. His speed inside of the ring is very impressive and you can notice it even more when he is right in front of you.
Holding his own… ‘Whoever I’m sparring with I always hold my own. You can’t just let anyone take advantage of you when you’re in the ring. I hold my own and put in the work that I need to and I get good work in return from my sparring partners.
Inside or Out?… ‘I’m more comfortable working from the outside and boxing. The name of the game is boxing and that’s what I like to do, it’s what I’m good at. But I can definitely mix it up on the inside too.
Learning from John Bray… ‘Everything’s going great with John. We’ve been putting in so much work together and we’re really gelling together. He always has something new to teach me and I’m always improving in some way. It isn’t just about offense either, I’ve been learning a lot about defense and we combine the two together.
Barrera-Peden this Saturday, September 17th…
‘That’s going to be a good fight. Marco Antonio Barrera is a warrior and so is Robbie Peden. Peden is very tough and he comes to fight all the time. It’s hard for me to make a prediction on that one, I just want to see a good fight. With their styles matching up I think it’s going to be a great fight. They are both tough guys but I think Barrera has the edge because of his boxing skills.
Fighting the best…
‘Boxing is all about fighting the best and being impressive doing it. Sometime down the line I am going to be in with the best and I want to let them know that I’m nobody who’s going to be messed around with. I want them to know that they need to be ready for me.
The highly-anticipated Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo rematch October 8th…
‘I’m interested in seeing how Corrales is going to come at Castillo the second time around. In the last fight he really took a lot of punishment. It’s hard to come back from those type of fights but Diego Corrales is a warrior and he always comes back strong. I’m very interested to see how this fight is going to come out.
Be ready…
‘I just want the fans to know that I’m coming back September 16th and be ready for it. Please stay behind me and if anyone has any questions just go to my website, www.TheGhostGuerrero.com.
As always our thanks to Guerrero’s publicist Mario Serrano for helping out with this one on one.
