Video: Robert Guerrero: I fought my heart out, but Keith Thurman was on his game tonight

“I fought my heart out, Keith he’s a good fighter, he’s fast, he does have power in both hands. I fought my fight, but he was on his game tonight.

Robert Guerrero at post fight presser talks Keith Thurman fight

The world renowned MGM Grand in Las Vegas served as the backdrop to the first ever Premier Boxing Champions series event on NBC. After a decades long drought, boxing aficionados finally got to sink their teeth into a high quality boxing show on network television. Undertaking the main event duties were fan favorites Keith “One-Time” Thurman and Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero who brought the house down with an action-packed welterweight battle for the WBA Welterweight Championship. ‎From the 1st round both men met in the middle of the ring trading bombs at close range, Thurman’s over hand right against Guerrero’s looping right hook. They continually met in the pocket unleashing hard short punches or power uppercuts, however that same momentum ended up creating a head clash since the fighters use opposing stances. The Floridia native got the brunt of the impact as grotesque swelling developed on the left side of Thurman’s forehead reminiscent of Hasim Rahman’s horrible swelling in a match a few years back.

The headbutt seemed to have only given more life to Thurman who masterfully used fluid angles and perfect lateral movement‎ to glide in and out of the pocket on a flat footed Guerrero. Had “The Ghost” popped his jab more the south paw may have been able to cut the ring off better but he instead opted to square up with his foe if not follow Thurman around the ring employing little offense. To his credit, Guerrero took some clean shots from his opponent all throughout the fight but did have some moderate success when he attacked the body or got off first. Thurman lead this dance of violence clearly being the first to initiate beating his foe to the punch more and more as the fight passed the middle point. In the 9th round Thurman doubled up on a right uppercut, the second one landed on Guerrero’s ear sending him straight to the canvas. The California native beat the count but was visibly stunned as the round came to a close from a shot that likely threw off his equilibrium.

The 10 th round witnessed another momentum shift as Guerrero came out of his corner on fire in a rage to avenge the extra point loss in the previous round. He kicked it into high gear pressuring Thurman, smothering him at close range making it a phone booth fight along the ropes which prompted everyone at the MGM Grand to stand on their feet cheering both men. Thurman landed some shots of his own but after putting on a boxing clinic for roughly a half an hour, he looked visibly drained. Guerrero kept up the same approach for the championship rounds as he backed up “One-Time” even with blood streaming from his left eye and a swollen right eye. Thurman cruised those last two rounds by landing one or two clean shots before backing up and using his legs to avoid unneeded damage.

Once the dust settled the judges all saw it a unanimous verdict for Keith “One-Time” Thurman who successfully defended his WBA Welterweight Championship improving to (25-0 w/21 KOs) thanks to scores of 120-107, 118-109 and 118-108. The loss lowers Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero to (32-3-1 w/18 KOs).