Robert Guerrero Dropped, Escapes With Split Nod

By Francisco Salazar

(CARSON, Calif.) - Robert Guerrero received the victory, by way of a ten round split decision, over Aron Martinez on Saturday afternoon before an outdoor crowd at the Stubhub Center.

His performance throughout the ten round bout may have left more questions than answers though about what is next for his career.

While many predicted Guerrero to easily defeat Martinez, the fighter from East Los Angeles came to win and took the fight to Guerrero.

From the opening bell, Martinez pressed the action, finding success on the inside and landing wide left hooks and right crosses. Guerrero attempted to counter with lefts, but had to deal with swelling underneath his left eye.

Things got worse for Guerrero as he was dropped near the end of the fourth round, courtesy of a barrage of hard punches from Martinez.

Both fighters had their moments in the middle rounds. In the second half of the fight, Guerrero began to counter Martinez, timing him with left hands to the head. Martinez's punch output dropped considerably as he fought in spurts and did not press the fight as he had done in the earlier rounds. There was a sense of urgency in the last 15-20 seconds of the 10th round, where both traded punches until the final bell.

One judge scored the bout 95-94 for Martinez, while the other two judges scored the bout 95-94 and a laughable 97-92 for Guerrero.

"I'm very happy with my performance," said Martinez after the fight. "We fought like warriors. I thought I won the fight, (but) I know that the fans enjoyed the fight. I want to get back in the ring right away."

Guerrero lives to see another day. While he did get the win, one has to wonder whether he came back too soon from the bruising loss to Keith Thurman on March 7. Others wonder whether he is on the downside of his career.

With the win, Guerrero goes to 33-3-1, 18 KOs. Martinez drops to 19-4-1, 4 KOs.