Nilo Guerrero (left) and Jandeep Sangra play defense during their ten-round fight on September 19 in Yakima, Washington. Photo credit: Nestor Salgado, Legends Casino Hotel
Nilo Guerrero has taken a huge step forward towards contender status.
Guerrero defeated Mandeep Jangra by majority decision Thursday night at Legends Casino Hotel in Toppenish, Washington. Judge Alan Krebs (95-95) scored the game a draw. Vincent Santino (96-94) and Perla Rodriguez (98-92) had it for Guerrero in a clash of undefeated junior lightweight prospects.
With the win, Guerrero (10-0, 7 KOs) won a minor world title belt.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity,” said Guerrero, a Nicaraguan prospect based in Coachella, California. “All the sacrifice and all the hard work was all worth it. I am now even more motivated than ever to go back to work and strive to be better every day.”
Guerrero was the more effective fighter during the first half of the fight. The unbeaten 24-year-old outboxed Jangra, changing his offense and connecting with combinations to the head and body.
Jangra felt that he was not on the scorecards, and rallied in the final three rounds. He managed to win the tenth round on two of the three cards. Had he won it on the Santino’s card, the fight would have gone to a split decision.
Instead, Jangra—an India-bred boxer now based in Florida—was forced to taste his first defeat. The Roy Jones Jr. The Boxing Promotions-represented 31-year-old – who also trains with the Hall of Fame boxer from Pensacola – fell to 10-1 (7 KOs) with the setback.
In his previous fight on June 15, Guerrero defeated Diuhl Olguin by unanimous decision. The win over Olguin came exactly four months after Guerrero knocked out Dan Hernandez in the opening round.
Guerrero is promoted by Toro Promotions and managed by Vartan Torosyan.
Two fighters also trained by Jones were victorious.
Featherweight Dominique Roundtree of Augusta, Georgia defeated Roberto Cantu Pena by decision over six one-sided rounds. All three judges scored the bout 60-53 in favor of Roundtree, who improved to 10-0, 6 KOs.
Cantu Pena, originally from McAllen, Texas and now living in Rio Bravo, Mexico, went 4-4, 3 KOs.
In junior middleweight action, Keon Papillion (10-0-1, 7 KOs) of Lafayette, Louisiana stopped journeyman Rondale Hubbert (16-33-3, 10 KOs) of Duluth, Minnesota after two rounds.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at (email protected)