Two of Gilroy's best young boxers became a bit more polished in the ring this past weekend in Oxnard, with one taking home two prizes at the Police Activities League State Championships.
Randy Guerrero, 16, reached the finals of the 132-pound Open Division before losing a controversial decision, and 14-year-old Elizabeth Rodriguez gained redemption by topping Jasmine Chacon in the 101-pound title bout. Rodriguez, who lost to Chacon just less than a month ago in a split-decision at the Hollister Motorcycle Rally, was also named the best female boxer overall.
"I knew I was robbed of a decision at the bike fest rally fights against Jasmine Chacon," Rodriguez said. "I won that fight, she won the decision. I felt I would get a fair decision here at the State Championship.
"That State Pal Championship belt wasn't going nowhere else but (home) with me to Gilroy."
Rodriguez will now start preparing for nationals, which will take place Sept. 27 through Oct. 4.
Guerrero left the tournament feeling a bit like Rodriguez did after her fight in Hollister. His trainer and father, Ruben Guerrero, thought it was clear that Randy lost due to his opponent fighting in his hometown and in his own gym, no less.
"To me, everyone that was there said Randy won that fight," Ruben Guerrero said. "It was his hometown, he was from that gym - you know how that is.
"I was really proud of [Randy]. He put a lot (of work) into it and learned a lot."
After receiving a bye in the first round, Randy Guerrero won a unanimous decision in the semifinals against a fighter who had nearly 10 times as many amateur bouts than Randy's eight.
"He busted that kid up pretty good," Ruben Guerrero said. "They went head-on pretty good and Randy got the best of him."
As the younger brother of two-time IBF featherweight champ Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero, Randy still has work to do. But his father was more than pleased with how he fared in his first large-scale tournament.
"He's still got a long way to go, he's young and needs a lot of experience," Ruben Guerrero said. "He's gonna have a lot more (fights) like that. He's not the only one who got robbed. But in your heart, if you know you won, you're a winner."
Josh Koehn Josh Koehn is a sports writer for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at jkoehn@svnewspapers.com.
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Best in the bus business, again
