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Robert 'The Ghost' Guerrero
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Growing up, whenever a fight would break out at school everybody would be watching. There’s something about seeing two people go at it that is fascinating to the mind. Whether its brief or drawn out, it seems that deep down everybody wants to see a little bit of drama. This Saturday in Las Vegas the attention of the boxing world will be focused towards Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao, as the two lock horns at the MGM Grand. One of the people who will be keeping a close eye is NABF Featherweight Champion Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero, who resides just one weight class below Saturday night’s combatants.
Guerrero is busy training for his April 1st ShoBox date against Adrian Valdez, but he still found time to stop by BraggingRightsCorner and give us his thoughts on Pacquiao and Morales. Here’s Robert’s thoughts on the big showdown, the fighters themselves, and what the match-up means to the sport.
On Manny Pacquiao...
"He’s a very very fast southpaw. It’s always hard to fight a southpaw. He has that dynamite power and if he lands a shot, no matter where it is, its going to do some damage. With that kind of foot speed and hand speed, he’s devastating. A lot of times guys can’t see where his punches are coming from because of his speed. He’s an experienced fighter because he’s been in there with Marquez and Barrera, and soon Morales."
Pacquiao’s Fans…
"Fans can affect a fighter in different ways. Sometimes you have to make sure to not get distracted. It depends on how strong-minded a fighter is. I really feel that Manny Pacquiao is a strong-minded fighter. Being that he’s from the Philippines, he actually has a lot of fans in the States and it’s incredible. It's good to see a fighter who can come to another country and still have a big fan base here. That type of support ups a fighter’s confidence and makes him work that much harder, just to do it for his fans."
Pacquiao’s give and take battle against Juan Manuel Marquez…
"It was a great fight. I really feel that Marquez didn’t take Pacquiao as seriously as he should have in the first round and that’s why he got dropped three times. Marquez got caught but he recovered very well from those knockdowns. To fight on after that, and after suffering a broken nose, is incredible. I felt that after the first round Marquez started to take control of the fight, and began using his jab more. As the fight went on Marquez started landing more and more especially with his counterpunching. He gave Pacquiao a lot of trouble as things went on. Pacquiao likes to rush in and Marquez worked off of that. It was a great fight and it went back and forth both ways."
Thoughts on Erik ‘El Terrible’ Morales…
"I think he’s a great fighter. He’s been in some tough fights, a lot of wars. It all depends on which Erik Morales is going to show up. There’s the Erik Morales who comes and likes to slug away and then there’s the Morales who likes to box and pick you apart with different angles. Against Pacquiao, if he boxes, I think it's going to be a real interesting fight."
Vegas atmosphere come fight night?
"I think it will be a combination of both fighters’ fans at the fight. They both have solid fan bases of people who just love to watch them fight, win or lose. It would be great if it would be evened out. It could be like a soccer game, where things are real rowdy and live, with fans from different cultures meeting up."
Morales plan of attack?
"Morales has a great right hand. A lot of times Manny Pacquiao likes to force his way in and Morales could work off of that. Morales is a sharp guy in the ring, he has great timing. I think he’ll be timing that straight right hand right down the pipe when Pacquiao comes in. It’s common knowledge that a straight right hand is the best way to go against a southpaw. I really expect Morales to be looking to land that right hand a lot."
Surprised that Morales would take on Pacquiao following the loss to Barrera?…
"I was kind of surprised, but with Morales nothing surprises me. He’s a warrior and he loves to fight. He really loves to fight. He’ll stand there and trade with you or he can box you. So yeah, at first I was a bit surprised that he took the fight, but with Morales nothing really surprises me because he’s that type of fighter."
Pacquiao’s knockout of Marco Antonio Barrera….
"It was a shocker. Not the fact that he won, but the way that he won. He just destroyed Barrera. I thought it was going to be a much better fight than that but it turned out that Pacquiao was just too much for him that night."
Morales or Pacquiao?
"I have to go with Pacquiao because he just has so much stamina and energy. The guy just keeps going and going. He’s going to be putting that pressure on Morales. It all depends. If Morales gets a body attack going early he can change things but I have to go with Pacquiao. He’s lightning fast and he can change a fight with one punch."
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© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2005
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Interview by Chris Robinson (March 18, 2005) 
