Robert Guerrero is back!

Former IBF champ Guerrero wins arbitration case

Dec 16, 8:03 pm EST


SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—Former featherweight champion Robert Guerrero is ready to start boxing again after winning a lengthy arbitration case Tuesday against his former promoter.
Guerrero (22-1-1, 15 KOs), a two-time titlist from Gilroy, Calif., hasn’t been in the ring since Feb. 29, when he knocked out Jason Litzau to defend his IBF title. Instead, Guerrero spent the past 10 months fighting for his freedom from a contract with promoter Dan Goossen.
After the California attorney general’s office ruled in his favor, Guerrero said he hopes to be back in the ring by January while working toward a 130-pound title shot after relinquishing his featherweight crown in June.
“I didn’t think it was going to take this long,” Guerrero told The Associated Press. “It was a bumpy ride, but it’s good to be at the end and get back in the ring. I’m just happy now that I’m getting that chance.”

Guerrero, known to his Northern California fans as “The Ghost,” said he sought a breakup with Goossen in part because he hadn’t received the big-money fights he craved against the likes of Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. The arbitration case also hinged on the length of Guerrero’s contract after a long injury layoff earlier in the fighter’s career.
“At this point, I just want to get back in the ring,” Guerrero said. “But if there’s a title fight available, I’ve been staying sharp and ready to go. That’s what every fighter wants, the championship fights. That’s how you get somewhere in boxing, getting the championship fights. I’m just happy now that I’m getting that chance.”
Guerrero is a free agent now, but he seems likely to sign with Golden Boy Promotions this week. Oscar De La Hoya’s successful company is in dire need of dynamic young stars, and Guerrero could be an appealing talent to television networks for his exciting style and clean-cut image.
Bob Santos, Guerrero’s co-manager, said the fighter could have ended the case at several points over the past 10 months.
“I think it’s a testament to Robert’s fortitude and his character that he said, ‘No, I feel that I’m in the right, and I feel that I should be a free agent right now, even if a court case takes a year or two years,”’ Santos said.
Guerrero joked that he’s been “walking around and picking fights so I can stay in shape,” but he actually spent his layoff in regular training sessions. He also supported his wife, Casey, whose leukemia is in remission.
“He kept his moral principles in place at a time when his wife was going through leukemia treatments,” Santos said. “I don’t think it could have gone any lower for somebody, having to take her to the hospital all the time, driving back and forth to the doctor. At the exact time his wife came down with leukemia, he is going through probably the toughest time in his career.”