Photos by Daisy Rosas

LEMOORE, Calif. (March 1, 2008) – Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero produced perhaps the finest performance of his career Friday when he successfully defended his International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight title with an exciting eighth-round knockout over Jason “The American Boy” Litzau in a thrilling one-sided war in the main event on ShoBox: The New Generation on SHOWTIME.

Southpaw Guerrero (22-1-1, 1 ND, 15 KOs), of nearby Gilroy, Calif., fairly dominated Litzau (23-2, 19 KOs), of St. Paul, Minn., before dropping him twice in the eighth round.

The Ghost Celebrates His Win

After the second knockdown, the referee stopped the contest at 2:25.

Making the second defense in his second stint as IBF 126-pound kingpin, Guerrero floored the challenger the first time with two left hands approximately 40 seconds into the session. A three-punch combination ended the evening for Litzau.

“It went how I expected it to go,” Guerrero said. “A lot of fans came here and a whole lot more were watching on SHOWTIME to see me put on a good show and I think I did. The support I get is just incredible and I really appreciate the fans that come to see me fight or watch on television.

“I expended a lot of energy at the beginning throwing a lot of power punches. A lot landed, but some missed, too. Between rounds, my corner told me to just go out and relax and box more and let the knockout come and sure enough they were right and it did.

“I’ll fight anybody next. There are a lot of big fights out there. If the winner of Vazquez-Marquez wants to move up, I would fight either of them. I am ready to fight now.”

Litzau started slowly and seemed reluctant to let his fists go. Once he picked up the pace, however, he landed some solid shots, but rarely in combination. Guerrero also made him miss, at one point avoiding six consecutive punches.

“I have nothing but respect for Guerrero. He is a great champion,” said Litzau, who’s three fight-winning streak ended. “He came in and did his job. He got a little dirty at times and got me with some good headbutts, but you will not hear any excuses from me.

“I worked my butt off in the gym and trained hard. I was as ready as I could be, but this was his night. I know I did my part to make this a very entertaining fight, but I’m just 24 and I will be back.”

Nick Charles called the action from ringside with Steve Farhood serving as expert analyst. The executive producer of ShoBox is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing.