Boxing News : Gerbasi : Guzman vs. Sanchez – This Grudge Match May Get Ugly, but it’s a “Good” Ugly

Guzman vs. Sanchez – This Grudge Match May Get Ugly, but it’s a “Good” Ugly

By Thomas Gerbasi (February 25 2004)

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There is nothing like a good ol’ grudge fight. Not the “I’m gonna knock you out…no, I’m gonna knock YOU out” type, but one of those fights where the two combatants really don’t like each other. Sure it’s politically incorrect, and in the great scheme of things most of the banter can turn tasteless at times, but man, come fight night, you know you’ll be sitting in front of the tube or at the arena waiting for that bell to ring.

You can always go to confession later.

That’s what you’re getting Thursday night when Joan Guzman defends his WBO super bantamweight title against former champion Agapito Sanchez at the San Diego Sports Arena in the HBO Latino “Boxeo De Oro” main event.

Not only is Sanchez challenging for the title he lost outside of the ring due to eye cataracts (he has since passed all physicals and has been cleared for battle), but he is also fighting a fellow Dominican, only the second time in history that has happened with a world title on the line. And if the pre-fight banter between the two has been any indication, don’t expect any hugs before or after this one.

“In this fight I want to hurt Agapito as much as I can, so much that the medics will have to save him,” Guzman told MaxBoxing through his translator, manager Rafael Guerrero. “But if the referee lets me, I am going to make Agapito pay; it doesn’t matter if he has to pay with his life.”

That’s some heavy stuff, especially in a game where lives have been lost and irrevocably changed. Guzman cites the numerous postponements of the bout and losses of time and money due to these delays for his dislike of Sanchez, but ‘El Ciclon’ hasn’t exactly been a shrinking violet either, having issued a recent press release entitled “I will break Guzman’s jaw”.

But all nastiness aside, once the bell rings, a legitimate fight of the year candidate could break out.

At 27, Guzman may not be your typical young gun, but he still has seven years on the veteran Sanchez, and with such youth and an unbeaten record (20-0, 16 KOs) to his name, “Little Tyson” does have the air of invincibility swirling around him. Some devastating knockouts on his ledger also add to that air.

“When he knocked out (Hector Julio) Avila (in 2001), he was unconscious for more than 18 minutes,” recalled Guerrero. “And last July 28, in only one minute and 28 seconds, he knocked out Jorge Monsalvo, who was unconscious for more than 45 minutes. This is the same fighter Agapito won the title against in seven rounds.”

What’s scary about Guzman is that even though he hasn’t come close to matching the quality of opposition faced by Sanchez, he has shown the ability to box as well as bang, a dangerous combination in any circumstance. Yet, as Guzman’s detractors will point out, he has gone the distance in his last two US fights (against Edel Ruiz and Armando Guerrero), and there are questions about whether he carries his power into the late rounds.

The fiercely loyal Guerrero disagrees.

“We know what type of fighter we have, and we’re confident in his preparation,” he said. “He’s in the best shape of his career right now. The people in the Dominican Republic who are with Agapito say that Guzman is only strong for four rounds and that then he gets tired. One time they saw Guzman fight ten rounds, but they didn’t know we lost the mouthpiece. He had to fight with a bigger fighter’s mouthpiece, and he couldn’t keep his mouth closed because the mouthpiece was so big. They took that to mean that Guzman didn’t have power after four or five rounds. That’s a mistake. He’s ready to go 15 rounds if it was possible. The big question is can Agapito do enough to last more than two, three, or four rounds?”

Sanchez, entering his 16th year in the business, is an unlikely candidate to be intimidated, by words and /or fists. An old school brawler in the best sense, Sanchez is like a 5-4 sparkplug of tightly wound energy ready to explode at any time, and who does so with any means within his disposal.

Best remembered for his last fight - a six round technical draw with Manny Pacquiao in November of 2001 that saw Sanchez put together a performance Fritzie Zivic would have admired – Sanchez has faced the best competition possible during his career, and he hasn’t lost since a 1998 majority decision defeat to Guty Espadas.

But if you want names…from Marco Antonio Barrera to Juan Manuel Marquez, from Freddie Norwood and Javier Jauregui to Oscar Larios and Pacquiao, Sanchez has shied away from no one, and even when on the losing end, he has never left the ring without putting up a fight, something he learned on the poverty-stricken streets of Guachupita, ironically the same hometown of Guzman, and another point of contention between the two.

“The people don’t accept Agapito like they accept Guzman because they feel Guzman is a real Dominican citizen,” alleges Guerrero, noting Sanchez’ globetrotting to Panama and Brooklyn, New York. “Guzman is a hero in the Dominican Republic. Agapito is well known and he was champion but now the people know him because he was stopping Guzman from making defenses.”

“I feel that I have more than 80% of the Dominican citizens with me,” adds Guzman. “The last 20% is taking a chance with the other Dominicans if they want to see me lose.”

Regardless of which side you listen to, Guzman, a good friend of Red Sox pitching ace Pedro Martinez, has reached the heights of stardom in his home country, a fact made clear when he joined Martinez, Cubs superstar Sammy Sosa, and baseball Hall of Famer Juan Marichal to carry the traditional torch for the Pan American Games in 2003.

Such acclaim was a long time coming for Guzman, the son of a fighter who began fighting at the age of eight, reportedly scored over 300 amateur wins, and earned a spot on the 1996 Dominican Olympic team. He turned pro in 1997, but after two wins, quit the game for close to two years, citing managerial issues. He returned in 1999 with Guerrero and he hasn’t looked back.

In fact, Team Guzman is only looking forward, as they are already making plans for life after Thursday’s bout, a classic tactical mistake, but one they obviously have the confidence to undertake.

“The plan after this fight is to make another fight with a Mexican,” said Guerrero. “We are looking for Mexicans in his weight because he (Guzman) wants to be called “The Mexican Assassin”. He has four Mexicans on his record and he’s looking for more. And if Barrera wants to take a chance with him, he’s able to go to 126 or 128, depending on what Barrera wants, to fight him. Or he can go to 126 to fight Manny Pacquiao.”

Lofty goals indeed for Guzman, but ones befitting someone bold enough to be nicknamed “Little Tyson”. On Thursday, we’ll get to see how he reacts with the first low blow or headbutt from Sanchez, or even the first solid combination to the chin from his experienced foe. That’s the fun part, the rite of passage for every young champion; yet in keeping with the traditions of undefeated, invincible champions, there are no worries for Guzman.

“I’m the first fighter who knows what Agapito can do in the ring,” said Guzman. “At the beginning, I’m going to hit him so hard he can’t do anything except run or go to the canvas.”