Guerrero defeats Berto in a War!
Gilroy Ca.’s Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KOs) defeated former welterweight champion Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KOs) after 12 grueling rounds on Saturday night at the Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario Ca.
Berto survived two early knockdowns, a swollen right eye and somehow managed to work his way back into the fight but in the end it wasn’t enough to overcome the early deficit or Guerrero’s will to win.
The WBC welterweight interim champ Guerrero floored Berto in each of the opening two rounds and kept the pressure for most of the night. Berto, with his right eye nearly shut, battled back and had his moments as he fought off the ropes, landing head snapping uppercuts that stunned Guerrero on numerous occasions. However, Guerrero was able to walk through those heavy shots and outworked Berto in nearly every round.
After a thrilling twelfth round, all three judges would have Guerrero out in front with a score of 116-110.
“He didn’t hurt me at all” said Guerrero “He’s a strong guy, he hits hard but I have a strong chin and I was able to take the shots”
“I came back after 14 months and fought a tough guy in Robert Guerrero but he got the win and it is what it is” said Berto “at the end of the day Robert fought a good fight and got the win”
Heavy handed Keith Thurman (19-0, 18 KOs) destroyed Carlos Quintero (29-4, 23 KOs) inside four rounds to remain unbeaten and claim the NABO Jr. middleweight title. Thurman came out aggressive from the opening bell and landed a left hook to the body that floored Quintana in the final seconds of the opening round. Quintana would survive the following two rounds until a barrage of shots hurt the Puerto Rican fighter. A final over-hand right as Quintana staggered against the ropes had referee Jack Reiss stepping in to stop the beating at 2:19 of the fourth round.
Unbeaten Jr. middleweight Jermell Charlo (19-0, 9 KOs) scored a unanimous decision over Dashon Johnson (13-8-3, 4 KOs) after ten boring rounds. It wasn’t until the seventh round that the booing crowd turned and began to cheer. Unfortunately the cheers came after Johnson threw Charlo to the ground in frustration. He was deducted a point for the rough house tactics but it fired him up and was possibly the only round he won. The two went back to fighting a little-to-no action fight for the remainder of the bout with Charlo earning scores of 100-89, 99-90 and 98-92 all in his favor.
Undefeated bantamweight Randy Caballero (17-0, 7 KOs) beat a game Rigoberto Casillas (8-8-1, 6 KOs) to a bloody mess before getting the stoppage after three rounds. Caballero dominated from the opening bell and landed combinations at will. In the third, the Coachella fighter landed a vicious right hand that buckled the legs of Casillas but he refused to go down. Casillas showed tremendous heart as he fought back but took a beating in the process. At the end of the round, Caballero smiled and shook his head, seemingly in wonder of how the Mexican fighter remained in his feet. The ringside physician would not allow Casillas to answer the call for the fourth round.
2012 Olympic heavyweight Dominic Breazeale (2-0, 2 KO) ran through previously unbeaten Mike Bissett (1-1, 1 KO) in two rounds. Braazeale floored Bissett twice in the opening round and twice in the second before referee David Denkin stepped in an waived it off at 1:17.
Young prospect Manny Robles Jr. (3-0, 2 KO) scored a first round KO over a win-less Misael Martinez (0-7). Robles, of Los Angeles stunned Martinez with a right hand and a barrage of unanswered punches ended it moments later. Referee Jack Reis stepped in and waved it off at 2:13.