By Paul Strauss: From the beginning, it seemed Jason Litzau was looking for help. He looked confused, like he wanted his corner or the referee to get this tiger named “The Ghost” off of him. Even the few times when he did have a little bit of success, he mistakenly thought he turned the tide, but he soon realized it hadn’t even come in yet..
“The Ghost” beat him on the inside. He beat him on the outside, and he also beat him in the rough house department. A telling moment came when Litzau landed his best punch of the fight, which happened to come after the bell rang! Jason wanted to be a sportsman and touch gloves with Guerrero in an apologetic way. Guerrero wasn’t interested. He just wanted to fight and make Jason pay. And pay he did. The total domination by Guerrero was very impressive, because Litzau is not without talent. Litzau does have athletic ability. He moves well, has a good jab, and some pop on his punches.
But, Guerrero quickly exposed his weaknesses.
The first thing he did was apply pressure from the opening bell. It was effective pressure, with
a penalty to be paid by Litzau for everything he tried to do in retaliation. In the past, Litzau had usually been able to get by, using his height and reach to get himself out of danger. But, with Guerrero he soon discovered he was always within range, and Guerrero never stopped punching.
Guerrero’s volume punching wasn’t just for show either. He wasn’t just shoe-shining. He put his punches together from correct angles and position. In fact, he’s seldom out of position and has excellent balance. Even his retreat is tactical, stepping back at the right time and just the right amount to allow himself the ability to counter with knockout force.
James (Buddy) McGirt tried to impress upon Jason that when he was within range of The Ghost’s punches, he had to do something……..keep his hands up, move his head, and punch back. Litzau only occasionally did it, but most of the time his hands were down, and his head was right there forThe Ghost to tee off. When the inevitable came, and he found himself on the seat of his pants, he didn’t have enough sense to stay down for a few seconds to let his head clear. He has such a great desire to be a crowd-pleaser, that he jumped to his feet, probably not doing his equilibrium much good.
When he did try to punch back, he over committed, and almost exclusively threw at Guerrero’s head. They don’t call him The Ghost for nothing. He is right in front of you, but when you throw punches you hit nothing but air. More often than not, when Jason missed, he left himself hanging out to dry, and that’s not a good thing to do with someone like Guerrero. You don’t make mistakes with him and stay around for very long. Jason found out the hard way.
Guerrero seems to be the complete package. He has a very good defense, with great head movement. He has all the punches, a good jab, a devastating left uppercut (both to the head and body), and his right hook isn’t bad either. More importantly, he understands what needs to be done and when. He uses his weapons at the right time, and is seldom out of position. There are some exciting fights on the horizon for this featherweight. Any time I see his name on the card, I will be tuning in, because I know I will be in for a treat.
As for Jason Litzau’s future, I just don’t know?. He took a terrific beating. He still seemed badly hurt when the fight ended, even after what should have been a sufficient time to recover. As previously mentioned, he definitely has skill and athletic ability, which he can use those to get by many opponents. But, in order for him to successfully compete against the top echelon of fighters, he almost needs to start over. He needs to quit relying on the fact he’s taller and has the reach, and concentrate on what a fighter is suppose to learn and do. If I were him, I would carefully study films of The Ghost and try to imitate him.