Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero reappears to face Yoshihiro Kamegai
 By John J. Raspanti, Doghouse Boxing (June 19, 2014)
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Image made by icheehuahua, Doghouse Boxing Inc.
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If he had stayed hidden much longer, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero might have caught Jason Hawes and Steve Gonzales, the stars of Syfy channel's "Ghost Hunters" lurking around in his backyard.
It’s been 13 months since Guerrero lost a wide decision to Floyd “Money” Mayweather at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. Since then, other than an occasional quote, or rumored fight, “The Ghost” has been invisible.
But now he’s back to face Yoshihiro Kamegai this Saturday, June 21 at the StubHub Center in Carson, CA. During a conference call a few days ago, Guerrerro, who has held titles in the featherweight and junior lightweight divisions, explained his absence.
"I had the three back-to-back," Guerrero said, referring to his consecutive victories over Selcuk Aydin, and brutal battle with Andre Berto, before his match with Mayweather.
"The fight with Aydin was a tough, 12-round fight with him; you know? He was a hard puncher," he said. "Then, I had the tough fight with Berto too and we went at it for 12 hard rounds and then also the Mayweather fight. January first, I was back in the gym training and I'm excited to be back in.”
Guerrero (31-2-1, 18 KOs) makes an excellent point. For a modern day fighter, his activity was impressive. He also went to court in a failed attempt to break his contract with Golden Boy Promotions.
Kamegai (24-1-1, 21 KOs) suffered the first loss of his career at the same venue where he will fight this Saturday. He’s rebounded since with three straight victories, the last by knock out. He’s confident this time, the results will be different.
"What I remember about the last fight is that I remember the arena,” said Kamegai. “It was a very large arena and I do recall that I had some challenges, communication-wise, because my team and I did not speak the same language."
Guerrero, a southpaw, is a good all-around fighter. He mixes his attack well. He’s always had a good outside game, but as he proved against Andre Berto, his inside game is also something to be reckoned with. He’s aggressive and can get down and dirty when necessary.
Kamegai has scored more career knockouts than Guerrero, but his quality of opposition pales in comparison. His power seems legit.
Guerrerro, 31, is one of the most resilient fighters in the game. He put his career on hold four years ago to take care of his wife, who was suffering from leukemia. Kamegai, also 31, is something of a mystery. He’s the same height as Guerrero (5’10”) but is easy to hit.
"By watching film, the type of guy that Kamegai is, is that, he's a fighter and he comes to fight and he doesn't back down,” said Guerrero. “He wants to win and he wants to win in good fashion. He'll come and try to bang you out if he has to and if he has to move, he will move a little bit. But you have to come ready for everything," said Guerrero.
"That's one of the things that I learned from fighting Floyd is that you've got to be ready to move or to bang it out or to change things up, change direction, change your game plan," he said. "It makes you grow as a fighter and that's one of the things that having the layoff does is give you a fresh start.”
Kamegai is prepared for the most important fight of his life.
"In terms of styles, I think that we have very interactive styles,” Kamegai said. “Any time that you get in with a top-level fighter like Guerrero, to me, I'm looking at it as a challenge. I've trained to face the best Robert Guerrero that's out there."
Guerrero is easily a level above Kamegai. He’s by far the more talented fighter. Kamegai’s only hope is to catch Guerrero cold-which seems highly unlikely.
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