Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero Injured, Must Pull Out & Other Chatter…Avila

It was terrible news on Thursday morning.

Golden Boy’s CEO Richard Schaefer announced that Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero had injured his left shoulder and will not be able to fight Argentina’s Marcos Maidana on Saturday Aug. 27, in San Jose.

Just yesterday I was in Big Bear, Ca. to watch Guerrero in his final week in the mountain training camp prepare for the junior welterweight showdown with hard-hitting Maidana. The always smiling Ghost was jovial as usual and getting ready for sparring and working on a few things with his dad.

“We have some good sparring with these young guys,” said Ruben Guerrero, father and trainer of the Ghost. “Both of them are real quick.”

During sparring Team Guerrero prefers to work on defense and avoiding the quick and hard punches of the youngsters. On Wednesday, Guerrero sparred with Juanito Garcia a lithe looking boxer out of the Phoenix area and East L.A.’s Frankie Gomez.

For numerous rounds he began with Garcia and fired blows but not at full force. Most of the time Garcia attacked and Guerrero blocked and slipped while moving away.

“We don’t like to go all out because we just want to stay sharp,” said Ruben Guerrero. “We’re not here to hurt these kids. They’re real good.”

Next came Gomez whose speed and power is impressive.

“He throws looping punches like Marcos Maidana,” said Robert Guerrero. “But he’s faster than Maidana.”

Gomez, for those that are unfamiliar with his style, is nicknamed “Pitbull” and he fights like that. He’s always on attack mode but in recent times under trainer Abel Sanchez, the young boxer-puncher has become even more potent with more accuracy in his blows. No longer does he fire with abandon, now he sets up his punches and lands effectively.

Both Guerrero and Gomez have speed. The Ghost is taller but Gomez is wider around the shoulders. They’re exchanges were quick and burst-like.

“He’s perfect for working on defense,” said Ruben Guerrero about Gomez.

The East L.A. fighter has not only quick hands but very nimble footwork too. He’s just as quick darting in and out as he is firing machine gun bursts. On several occasions both fighters were entangled. On one of those entanglements along the ropes their arms locked and Guerrero slipped away but it was an awkward looking moment.

Katherine Rodriguez, who works as my primary photographer and is a former boxer, noticed the same awkward moment and commented on it.

“It didn’t look right when he got away from Frankie’s attack,” said Rodriguez who took the photo above of Guerrero just before his sparring session.

After the sparring session we spoke to all of the fighters and it didn’t appear that Guerrero was hurt at the time. But he did talk in the back with his handlers. The Ghost posed for photos for us with his team and was his usual spirited self. The entire team was friendly and open as usual.

It’s a darn shame.

Golden Boy Promotion’s CEO Richard Schaefer told the press about the disappointing injury.

“We were very much looking forward to it but it has to be postponed,” said Schaefer during a conference call on Thursday morning. “It’s very unfortunate that this exciting showdown is not going to be happening.”

Guerrero was flown to Northern California to see the San Francisco 49ers physician who is an expert in diagnosing similar injuries.

The Ghost is considered one of the top fighters in the game pound for pound and was a favorite to beat the feared Maidana. Hopefully, the gentleman fighter can return to full form and at 100 percent. Anyone who knows the Ghost and his team know that he and his team are a classy outfit. The best in boxing. Our best wishes to them.

Other chatter

The entire fight card on Saturday Aug. 27 has been postponed including the women’s flyweight bout that was going to feature Carina Moreno versus Chantel Cordorva.

“We really wish Robert Guerrero the best,” said Claudia Ollis, who was staging the female fight on the San Jose card.

Another fight was going to feature heavyweight prospect Seth Mitchell in the semi-main event. The heavyweight fight was going to be included on HBO’s telecast.

All tickets will be refunded.

Still more chatter

Two heavyweight fights headline the Roy Englebrecht Events fight card at the Orange County Fairgrounds tonight. Undefeated Alexander Flores (4-0) fights Serhiy Karpenko (6-1) and Lionel Davis (9-0) meets Andrae Carthron (5-7-2) in a pair of six round bouts. Several other boxing and mixed martial arts matches are planned for the event. For tickets and information (949) 760-3131.

Undefeated Efrain Esquivias (13-0, 9 KOs) meets Juan Ruiz (23-6, 7 KOs) of Santa Clarita, Calif. for the vacant NABF junior featherweight title on Friday Aug. 19 at Omega Products International in Corona. Also on the fight card is San Bernardino’s Artemio “King” Reyes (12-1, 10 KOs) facing Mexican veteran Cristian Favela (31-31-1, 15 KOs) in a welterweight clash set for eight rounds. For tickets or information call (714) 935-0900.

Boxing and mixed martial arts fights including a fight between Adam Lynn and Jason Meaders for the MEZ Sports Pandemonium lightweight MMA title take place on Friday Aug. 19 at the Riverside Convention Center. Hard-hitting Alex Luna is set to fight Alex Artiaga in a lightweight boxing match. For tickets and more information (949) 716-2557 or go to www.mezsports.com

Alfredo “Perro” Angulo (19-1, 16 KOs) finally returns to the ring after more than a year off and faces Joseph Gomez (17-4-1) on Saturday Aug. 20 in Mexicali, Mexico. Angulo just signed with Golden Boy Promotions. His last fight was a first round knockout win over Canada’s Joachim Alcine at Rancho Mirage on July 2010.

Coachella’s Antonio Diaz (47-6-1, 30 KOs) stopped Ernesto Zepeda (39-15-4, 34 KOs) at the end of round eight in what could be his final pro ring appearance last Friday at Fantasy Springs Casino. Also winning were Andrew Cancio, Jose Vargas, Angel Osuna, Kenny Williams and Humberto Zatarain.

Layla “Amazing” McCarter (34-13-5, 13 KOs) of Las Vegas beat Puerto Rico’s Belinda Laracuente (25-26-3, 9 KOs) in a lightweight battle between two female fighters with more than 50 pro fights. There are very few women prizefighters with more than 50 pro bouts. The match took place in Colorado. McCarter won by unanimous decision.

WBA junior bantamweight titleholder Tomas “Gusano” Rojas (36-12-1, 24 KOs) defends the title against Thailand’s Suriyan Sor Rungvisai (18-5-1) on Friday in Thailand. The Mexican southpaw from Vera Cruz is making his third world title defense.

Matthew Hatton (41-5-2, 16 KOs) fights Andrei Abramenka (15-0-2) for a vacant international welterweight title on Friday Aug. 19, in Lancashire, United Kingdom. Hatton is returning to his natural weight after losing in a world title bid to Mexico’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez last March.

Former 2008 U.S. Olympian Demetrius Andrade (13-0, 9 KOs) faces his most dangerous opponent in Grady Brewer (28-12, 16 KOs) a ranking junior middleweight out of Oklahoma. Brewer, 40, has upset several undefeated youngsters including Fernando Guerrero last June. The match takes place in Hammond, Indiana on Friday Aug. 19.

Michael Katsidis (28-4, 23 KOs) knocked out Michael Lozada (38-9-1, 30 KOs) at the end of round three on Saturday. Katsidis, a lightweight contender, fought n Queensland, Australia.

In a battle of heavyweight contenders Monte Barrett (35-9-2, 20 KOs) beat David Tua (52-4-2, 43 KOs) by unanimous decision after 12 rounds on Saturday in New Zealand. Tua was the favorite.

Argentina’s Alejandra Oliveras (22-2-2, 9 KOs) knocked out Liliana Palmera (20-9-3) in the first second of round five to win the vacant WBA lightweight world title. The championship match took place in Cordoba, Argentina on Friday.