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Robert Guerrero and Yoshihiro Kamegai put on a Fight of the Year candidate tonight at the increasingly magical StubHub Center in Carson, California, with Guerrero coming out victorious in a brutal, back-and-forth war, winning an unanimous decision.
Official scores were 116-112, 117-111, and 117-111. BLH had it 117-111 for Guerrero, and Showtime's Steve Farhood had it 116-112.
Guerrero (32-2-1, 18 KO) and Kamegai (24-2-1, 21 KO) didn't take long to get down and dirty in the trenches, as by round two they were involved in a phone booth war, the sort of fight that could have been held in a 12-foot ring for all it really mattered, rather than the rather large 22-foot ring they fought in tonight.
Guerrero had his left eye busted up and beaten shut over the course of the fight, while Kamegai bled from the nose most of the bout, but neither man took a step back, as they traded shots toe-to-toe and put on another classic for what has quickly become arguably the best and most exciting fight venue in the United States, if not the world.
"It was a rough one. I said I couldn't get caught in his style, but I did. That's the type of guy I am, I'll stay there and fight, no matter what type of guy he is, no matter how hard he hits," Guerrero told Jim Gray.
"He's a tough guy. The fans, they love it. I like to give the fans what they want, so I stood there and banged with him. I'm in good shape, I didn't get tired at all," Guerrero said, adding, "He hit me with a lot of body shots, too, but I took them very well. They asked me about ring rust, I said, you don't find out until you're in there," saying that he did feel the rust in the ring.
About his brave and incredibly tough foe, Guerrero told Gray, "I said in the fighter meeting, when you've got a guy like (Kamegai), they come 110% better than on tape, because this is his opportunity. This was his shot, and he came and gave it his all."
"There's not much I can say. I lost the fight. That's all I can say right now," Kamegai said through a translator. Asked if he was proud of his effort, he replied, "I came here to win. There's not much I can say right now, because I didn't win."
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