Ready to Fight

Brownsville boxer Gilbert Guevara is thankful for the opportunity to fight for a state title on his home turf.

Guevara, 23, is scheduled to face Texas welterweight title holder Ramon Gatica (10-0, five knockouts) of Austin in an eight-round bout on Aug. 15 at Jacob Brown Auditorium.

Popular local fighter Sergio Perales (5-0, four KOs) is scheduled to headline the Julio Marines Promo-tions card in a six-round bout.

Guevara (7-4-1, two KOs) talked about his upcoming fight on Friday afternoon at an informal press con-ference at his training headquarters in Brownsville.

"This is a great opportunity," said Guevara, a 2004 Porter High School graduate. "I've been waiting for a fight like this for the longest time.

"He (Gatica) has been calling me out since last October or so, and supposedly, he's been saying that I was afraid to fight him," Guevara added. "I'm not afraid to fight anyone. Just give me the time and place to fight somebody, and I'll be there."

The left-handed Gatica, 24, captured the welterweight title with a six-round unanimous decision over Johnny Casas on June 16, 2007, in Austin.

He's successfully defended the title twice. The last time was a sixth-round technical knockout of Louie Leija in Austin on May 23.

Before his win over Leija, Gatica fought at Jacob Brown on Feb. 1 and prevailed over Julio Perez on a four-round unanimous decision in a non-title bout.

Guevara watched Gatica defeat Perez, so he knows what to expect against the Austin fighter.

"I've actually seen him fight twice now, and I think that I can beat him," Guevara said.

Guevara is coming off a six-round unanimous decision loss to Gilbert Vera on Feb. 29 in Harlingen.

Robert Campos, Guevara's trainer, said it will be a tough fight against Gatica, and added that he be-lieves Guevara has what it takes to win.

"This will be the biggest fight Gilbert's had," Campos said. "He should be pretty excited and motivated about fighting for a title in his hometown. It's not going to be easy, because this guy's got some skills and everything, but hopefully, we should do good."

For ticket information, call Julio (206-9543), Joanna (720-6287) or John (533-4909) or go to www.marinesboxingpromotions.com.