Guevara fights today in another national tournament

 Brownsville fighter Jerry "Chicanito" Guevara has competed in prestigious amateur tournaments before, and this week, he's getting another opportunity to display his ring skills on the national level.

Guevara, an 18-year-old senior at Porter High School, is scheduled to fight today in the 119-pound bantamweight division at the 2008 U.S. Future Stars National Championships at Colorado Springs, Colo.

Guevara's opponent will be Luis Rosa of East Haven, Conn. There are 17 fighters in Guevara's division.

The tournament began Sunday and runs through Friday. The semifinals are scheduled Wednesday with the women's finals on Thursday and the men's finals on Friday. More than 270 top amateur male and female fighters from across the country are participating in the event at the U.S. Olympic Training Complex.

Guevara qualified for the tournament by winning his division at last month's LBC state tournament in Irving.

Trainer Robert Campos said he believes his fighter will do well. Campos said because of his regular job, he was unable to make the trip to Colorado with Guevara.

Guevara will be trying to bounce back after losing to Isaac Torres of Edinburg in the local Golden Gloves tournament last month in Brownsville. Guevara had just beaten Torres in the LBC regional tournament last November in San Antonio.

"As long as Jerry stays focused, I'm thinking he'll do well," Campos said. "He's ready conditioning-wise and mentally, too. It's always hard at a national tournament because you're going against the best fighters in the country, but Jerry knows more or less what to expect.

"I'm just telling him to throw as many punches as he can so he can score a lot of points," he added.