One of the more sprawling fighting families will be well represented when professional boxing debuts at the new indoor venue at Thunder Valley Resort Casino in Lincoln, California this coming Saturday night. Gilroy, California’s Guerrero family, helmed by Ruben Guerrero Sr., has produced one world champion and eventual hall of famer and many more professional and amateur standouts, almost too numerous to tally. Two of the five active pros currently representing the Guerrero clan will appear in Lincoln on Saturday: Victor and his cousin Maribel. The unbeaten Victor Guerrero moves up in class and scheduled distance when he takes on veteran Moris Rodriguez in a six-round middleweight attraction.
Victor Guerrero (7-0, 5 KOs) is the grandson of Ruben Sr. and son of Victor Sr., known in the family as “Big Vic,” a former professional fighter himself, who trains his son. While the Guerreros have their roots in Gilroy, the family business has expanded to other parts of California as well as Las Vegas, Nevada, where Victor spends most of his camps.
“Whenever I go out to California, I live in Morgan Hill, which is about ten minutes from Gilroy, my grandpa Ruben has a gym in downtown Gilroy, so I always go by there and train there,” explains Victor. “My uncle Russell also has a gym out in Galt, which isn’t too far from Sac. So whenever I am out there in Sac, they are telling me to come by there and train. But for the most part, I have been training out here in Vegas, getting that good work. There’s a boxing gym on almost every corner in Vegas. It is the boxing capital of the world. The best of the best train here and I am very thankful that I get to train here in Vegas too.”
“We all work together,” says Ruben Sr., who helps put the finishing touches on Victor’s camp when he arrives in California, as well as leads the corner on fight night. “We put everything together. We are a family. That is the way we prepare the boys, as one big family. We take care of my grandsons. My sons learned a lot from me and we are doing the best we can for them. It is their turn now.”
Thus far, the decisions the Guerreros have made in preparation have led to an undefeated run for 25-year-old Victor, who made his U.S. debut with a four-round unanimous decision over Matthew Monroe in Sacramento in January. The original plan was for Victor to return in April, against Moris Rodriguez, his scheduled opponent this Saturday, before a right shoulder injury postponed the bout. The delayed start only gave Victor more time to prepare for his veteran opponent and the six-round distance.
“We just have to be in better shape, because we are fighting six rounds, but he’s always in shape,” explains Ruben Sr. “He just has to do what he’s got to do. Go in there focused and he’s super ready because he’s been preparing for a while. His last fight got canceled, so we moved it up a month-and-a-half and he’s ready.”
Rodriguez (8-16-2, 5 KOs) of Sacramento, California has made a career out of derailing promising young fighters and hanging tough with others, more often than not on short notice. This time however, Rodriguez, who turned pro when Victor was only a few years into grade school, will have had months to prepare for Guerrero. Despite the experience gap, the young Guerrero is confident he is ready for whatever Rodriguez throws at him.
“He is a veteran,” recognizes Victor. “He likes to come forward and box on the inside. He has a couple more fights than me, well actually a lot more fights, but I have done my training. I’ve checked all the boxes and come Saturday night, I am ready with a game plan. I’ve sparred the right guys for him, so I’ll be set.”
“He’s a good little fighter,” says Ruben of Rodriguez. “I see my grandson Victor on a different level. He’s going to be ready and these are the kinds of guys that we want. He’s tough, but Victor is in shape and shouldn’t have a problem with this guy. Whoever they put in front of us, we are ready. We are not picking and choosing the fighters. If he fights tougher fighters, it is better for him. That is how he is going to learn.”
Aiding in Guerrero’s confidence may be his size advantage. Rodriguez turned pro as a lightweight and was a welterweight before the pandemic, having fought just once as a middleweight in his last bout, a six-round draw against Cristian Cabral last November.
“I am 6’3” and I have seen he’s about 5’9” and I am definitely going to have the reach, the height and the weight,” says Victor. “He’s coming up, so I think I have all the advantages, so that is in my favor as well.”
Despite his size advantage, and given the quality of his opponent, Victor will not go looking for a knockout on Saturday night.
“We’ll see Saturday night,” says Guerrero of the potential outcome. “I don’t like to predict knockouts or anything like that. I just let the fight come to me. I don’t look for the knockout right away. I just let the fight happen. If it is six or just two or three rounds, I am prepared for whatever comes.”
Prior to his fight, Victor will have an ear out for how his cousin Maribel, who fights unbeaten Brenda Hernandez Cardenas earlier in the night, fares in her bout.
“It gets me pumped up for my fight, watching her fight go down,” explains Victor. “I’ll probably be in the back, stretching, getting warmed up and focused for my fight, but I will definitely have someone watching to let me know how she is doing. I just have to stay locked in for my fight as well.”
While they will be fighting on a card together for the first time, Victor does not expect the unique situation to add any nerves come fight night. The Guerreros are fighters by blood and having his cousin Maribel go out before he does only adds to the night for Victor.
“We’ve trained together in the past and it adds a little excitement,” explains Victor. “She is going to fight before me. We’ve both been training extremely hard, so we will both be ready for our fights. We are going to put on a show on Saturday night.”
Should things go according to plan on Saturday, Victor hopes to get right back in the ring and continue his upward trajectory. However, he understands the challenge in front of him this weekend and refuses to get ahead of himself.
“After this fight, I am seeking to get back into the ring right away,” says Victor. “Hopefully one more fight at the end of the year and then get an early fight at the start of next year as well. I am going to stay in the gym and try to stay active as much as I can. Especially being at this young age that I am, I want to take full advantage of that. We’ll see what happens. Hopefully we can line up a bigger name or make it onto a bigger card. I like to take it one fight at a time. My focus is Moris Rodriguez, this Saturday, September 21st. I am locked in for that first, and whatever happens after, happens.”
Tickets for the event, promoted by Upper Cut Promotions, are available online at uppercutpro.com
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com