By Cliff Rold
24-year old IBF Featherweight titlist Robert Guerrero (22-1, 15 KO) of Gilroy, Califonia may be peaking. His felled foe on Friday night, 24-year old Jason Litzau (23-2, 19 KO) of St. Paul, Minnesota, would be hard pressed to disagree. In eight thrilling but largely one-sided rounds, all Litzau’s courage, hard right hands and resolve could do nothing to stop his more skilled foe at the Tachi Palace in Lemoore, California. The bout was televised live on Showtime’s ShoBox series.
From early on, it was Guerrero who decided the terms of engagement. A southpaw, Guerrero used his right jab to open up opportunities for searing left hands. He won the first two rounds comfortably as Litzau sought a way into the fight. That way was found it briefly in the third, as Guerrero was caught and staggered with a perfect counter right hand. Unfortunately for Litzau, Guerrero shook it off within seconds and fired back with more lefts of his own. The fight went to the inside in the fourth and fifth as Litzau was able to land more often but still ate the bulk of the worst fire. Guerrero’s precise work was evidenced by the drip of blood flowing from the left eye of Litzau.
In the sixth, it appeared that fans might be viewing a potential turn of fate. Litzau fought Guerrero on even terms and the titlist appeared to be fatiguing as he ate more right hand than he had all night. The crowd cheered as each man ate hard shots in a frenzied three minutes.
The appearance of a comeback was stifled in the seventh.
Guerrero came out measured early in the round, commanding the action with his jab and using the space it created to tag Litzau with harsh left crosses that opened a new spout of blood from Litzau’s nostrils.
The punishment in that round foretold the savage ending to come. In the eighth, Guerrero planted his feet and began to punish Litzau leading to the left uppercut and straight left hand combination that scored the bouts first knockdown.
Litzau leapt right up with more than a minute to go in the round, shaking his head as if to say he’d not really been on the deck. Guerrero pounced, driving Litzau to the ropes and just missing with the finishing blow. Litzau tried to fire his right hand and then tied Guerrero up. The titlist was having none of it. With slightly more than thirty seconds to go, Guerrero would land the knockout blows, a left uppercut-straight left-right hook combination that left Litzau on his back. The challenger rolled over, attempting to clear his head and find his legs. His legs chose not to meet the call and Litzau did not meet the count.
It was Guerrero’s fifth straight win by knockout and he can begin to dream of bigger things in his division. The two best fighters at 126 lbs., WBA titlist Chris John (41-0-1, 22 KO) and WBC titlist Jorge Linares (25-0, 16 KO), would both make for entertaining if highly challenging affairs. Guerrero also mentioned taking on the winner of tomorrow night’s Jr. Featherweight rubber match between champion Israel Vasquez and former champion Rafael Marquez. Of all his options, that would probably be the one that pays the best.
In the televised opener, the successful pursuit of revenge was on display as 28-year old Heavyweight Travis Walker (26-1-1, 20 KO) of Houston, Texas avenged his only career defeat by stopping rival T.J. Wilson (12-2, 8 KO) in two rounds. Wilson came out strong early, hoping to repeat the 15-second knockout win that had come so shockingly the first time around.
It was not to be.
Walker weathered the early storm and began to pile on, using hard jabs to open up blasting hooks and crosses. He pinned Wilson along the ropes late in the second and battered him. The referee stepped in to save a Wilson who appeared headed for the canvas.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com