By: Phil Santos – Overhandright.com: This is what I call an appetizer. If Israel Vazquez vs. Rafael Marquez III is the filet mignon of entrées than Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero vs. Jason “The American Boy” Litzau are certainly the Oysters Rockefeller of first courses. With a 1-2 combo like this one fight fans may just be stuffed before they can roll out the desert cart. Save the dates February 29th and March 1st, you won’t want to miss either of these awesome match ups..
On February 29th Robert Guerrero, 21-1-1 (14), puts his IBF title on the line against Jason Litzau, 23-1 (19), live on Showtime’s ShoBox “The New Generation”. Guerrero, who made the leap from prospect to titlist by beating Eric Aiken, has scored knockouts in four of his last six fights. “The Ghost” is also coming off one of the most impressive performances of his career having stopped Martin Honorio inside of round 1 during an IBF title defense. The highly regarded southpaw has tasted defeat only once, dropping a Split Decision to Gamaliel Diaz, a loss he was quick to avenge by punishing Diaz en route to a 6th round knockout.
Guerrero has pulled no punches leading up to this fight, showing respect for his opponent, and promising fireworks for fans. “I’m on a mission right now. Everyone has been talking about this fight for a while, and now its time to make it happen.” Guerrero continued – “Jason Litzau is a world class fighter. He’s a powerful puncher and one of the best in the division. I believe fans will get their money’s worth when they watch this fight, because someone’s going down, that’s for sure.”
Adding further motivation to the current champions cause is the fact that his wife was recently diagnosed with Leukemia. Guerrero has chosen to make this fight personal stating, “With my wife’s condition weighing on my mind, I feel I need to be in the ring as much as possible. The intensity of my training is like no other time in my life. I have to win this fight for my family.”
Jason Litzau quickly became a fan favorite with an electric style, solid skills and heavy hands. His career began with an astounding 14 fight knockout streak and he ran his undefeated record to 20-0 before being shocked by Jose Hernandez. Litzau was down in the 1st then proceeded to dominate the action, building up a sizable lead on all the scorecards, until Hernandez caught him again and ended his night early. Instead of coasting to an easy decision Litzau tried to close the show and the same style that has won Litzau so many fans had cost him his undefeated record.
Litzau is still a viable threat at Featherweight but hasn’t seemed to be the same fighter that he was before the loss to Hernandez. He has gone 3-0 since his only career defeat but has only scored one knockout. The change however may be beneficial to Litzau who appears to now realize that going for the kayo is great as long as it doesn’t cost him the win. If Litzau is to achieve his championship dreams he, like all great champions do, needs to know when to slug and when to box. Not knowing the difference can have devastating consequences.
This will be a big test for both of these young fighters and Litzau is hungry for glory, “The most dangerous fighters are those who are fighting in their first world title fight. I know what I have to do against Guerrero to be successful”, said Litzau. Further establishing the fact that he is a new man with a better awareness of what to do in the ring Litzau went on to say, “I’m not worried about having to go 12 rounds, I’ve been in close fights before so I know how to react and adjust to whatever pace that will give me the victory.”
Also on the Guerrero-Litzau card will be Heavyweights TJ Wilson vs. Travis Walker. Wilson bested the previously undefeated Walker in their first meeting winning a controversial 1st round stoppage. Walker protested in vein and depending on your view point it was either a good stoppage or it was premature. They set out to resolve their differences on what should be an action packed fight night on Showtime