boxing

Gilroy's ‘Ghost' Returns to Ring on Undercard for Manny Pacquiao Title Fight

Three-time boxing champ Robert Guerrero goes toe to toe with longtime rival Saturday

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Beware: The Ghost will reappear this week.

Bay Area native Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero, a three-time world boxing champion, will fight on the undercard for the Manny Pacquiao-Yordenis Ugas welterweight championship bout Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Guerrero (36-6-1, 20 KOs), who was born and raised in Gilroy, has won world featherweight and super featherweight titles and has faced off against elite fighters, including Floyd Mayweather, over the course of his 20-year professional career.

Guerrero will be facing Victor Ortiz, a former 147-pound champion who hasn't fought since 2018, in a 10-round welterweight bout.

"It’s great to be back in the ring, especially on a big card like Pacquiao ...," Guerrero said earlier this month. "Victor Ortiz and I were always on a collision course to fight, and now it’s finally happening. One thing I know for sure, we are going to throw blows, and the fans are going to see an all-out war."

Guerrero, 38, currently lives in San Juan Batista with his wife and three children and helps his dad and trainer Ruben Guerrero run the Pound4Pound boxing gym in Gilroy. He most recently won a unanimous decision over Gerald Thomas in September 2019.

Ortiz (32-6-3, 25 KOs), who won the welterweight title in April 2011 then lost it to Mayweather five months later, calls Guerrero a legend whom he's always admired.

"I look forward to competing against him and giving fans the toe-to-toe battle they’re expecting," Ortiz, 34, said.

The headline bout originally featured Pacquiao facing unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr., but Spence was forced to pull out because of a torn retina in his left eye. Ugas of Cuba, the reigning WBA welterweight champ, was tapped to take his place. 

The event will be broadcast via pay-per-view TV starting at 6 p.m. Tickets for the live event can be found on t-mobilearena.com and axs.com.

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