Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero produced perhaps the finest
performance of his career Friday when he successfully defended
his International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight title
with an exciting eighth-round knockout over Jason “The
American Boy’’ Litzau in a thrilling one-sided war in the main
event on ShoBox: The New Generation on SHOWTIME.
In the co-feature, promising once-beaten
Travis “Freight Train” Walker got
back on track by registering a second-round knockout over the
only boxer to defeat him, T.J. Wilson, in a non-stop action
heavyweight fight.
The
crowd-pleasing doubleheader, promoted by Goossen Tutor
Promotions, LLC, took place in front of a sellout crowd at
Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, Calif. It aired live
on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).
Fans anxiously awaiting the
highly anticipated rubber match between
Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez today/Saturday, March 1, on
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the
west coast) got more than an appetizer. They got two marvelous
main courses rolled into one.
So what else is new? After all, this is ShoBox and
exhilarating, compelling match ups has been the norm since the
popular pugilistic series debuted in July 2001.
Southpaw Guerrero (22-1-1, 1 ND, 15 KOs), of nearby Gilroy,
Calif., fairly dominated Litzau (23-2, 19 KOs), of St. Paul,
Minn., before dropping him twice in the eighth round. After
the second knockdown, the referee stopped the contest at 2:25.
Making the second defense in his second stint as IBF 126-pound
kingpin, Guerrero floored the challenger the first time with
two left hands approximately 40 seconds into the session. A
three-punch combination ended the evening for Litzau.
“It went how I expected it to go,’’ Guerrero said. “A lot of
fans came here and a whole lot more were watching on SHOWTIME
to see me put on a good show and I think I did. The support I
get is just incredible and I really appreciate the fans that
come to see me fight or watch on television.
“I spent a lot of energy at the beginning throwing a lot of
power punches. A lot landed, but some missed, too. Between
rounds, my corner told me to just go out and relax and box
more and let the knockout come and sure enough they were right
and it did.
“I’ll fight anybody next. There are a lot of big fights out
there. If the winner of Vazquez-Marquez wants to move up, I
would fight either of them. I am ready to fight now.’’
Litzau started slowly and seemed reluctant to let his fists
go. Once he picked up the pace, however, he landed some solid
shots, but rarely in combination. Guerrero also made him miss,
at one point avoiding six consecutive punches.
“I have nothing but respect for Guerrero. He is a great
champion,’’ said Litzau, who’s three fight-winning streak
ended. “He came in and did his job. He got a little dirty at
times and got me with some good headbutts, but you will not
hear any excuses from me.
“I worked my butt off in the gym and trained hard. I was as
ready as I could be, but this was his night. I know I did my
part to make this a very entertaining fight, but I’m just 24
and I will be back.’’
In the telecast’s opening bout,
Walker (27-1-1, 21 KOs) of
Houston, Tex., exacted sweet revenge on Wilson (12-2, 8 KOs)
of Miami, Fla. Walker won by knockout at 1:50 of the second
round.
This was a rematch of a fight
Wilson won on a controversial 15-second, first-round KO on
Oct. 19, 2007, on ShoBox.
Both boxers came out aggressively
and connected with solid shots in a fast-paced opening round.
The second frame picked up where the first left off until
Wilson ran into a Walker right uppercut. Walker continued to
connect with unanswered right and left hands and had Wilson
out on his feet when the referee stepped in and waved off the
proceedings.
“I have never been motivated for
any fight before and this is total vindication and exactly the
kind of fight I wanted,’’ Walker said. “I did what I was
supposed to do in our first fight. I knew he wasn’t in my
league and I couldn’t wait to show the world that.
“He hit me with the same kind of
punches this time as he did in our first fight, but this time
the referee let it go on. The guy lost a lot of weight and
came in shape (at 264, Wilson weighed 18 pounds lighter than
he did four months ago), but it didn’t matter.
“Maybe the loss was a good thing.
It made me smarter. I do know the real Travis Walker got to
show what he was about tonight. I would love to fight any of
the top heavyweights.’’
If Wilson has his way, he and
Wilson will have a third encounter.
“There’s a rematch clause in my
contract, so, yes, we will fight again,’’ Wilson said. “I have
no idea why the referee stopped the fight. I could have gone
on. I wanted to go on. Walker got his rematch with me. Now he
has to give me a rematch with him.’’
