Winston Guerrero is taking the right steps to become a legit contender at 115 pounds, and that is the goal for 2024.

Guerrero knocked out Charlie Clemente of Puerto Rico Friday night at the Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort in Miami, Florida. Guerrero, who is originally from Managua, Nicaragia, improved to 20-0 with 13 knockouts.

The bigger and stronger Guerrero put Clemente on the defensive from the opening round, walking down his opponent and unleashing hooks, crosses, and combinations. Early in the third round, a three-punch combination stunned Clemente. Moments later, a left hook to the head hurt Clemente, prompting Guerrero to follow up. Guerrero would batter Clemente (12-2, 5 KOs) against the ropes until Clemente fell to the canvas. Referee Rodolfo Aguiar counted him out at 1:02.

The 23-year-old Guerrero earned a regional title belt with this victory, and could move into the top 10 of some major sanctioning bodies.

Manager William Ramirez was impressed with Guerrero’s performance. While there is room for growth, Guerrero continues to improve and gain valuable experience with each outing.

“Winston performed very well,” Ramirez told The Ring Saturday. “(It) was not the best performance. I’ll say it was above average. I would’ve liked for Winston to cut off the ring better. Winston landed the left hook and was able to finish him. Clemente’s other loss was to (former world titleholder Guillermo) Rigondeaux. It took him until almost the eighth round to finish Clemente. Winston stopped Clemente in the third round. To me, that says something.”

Friday marked Guerrero’s third fight in the United States. He now lives and trains in Miami, Florida, working and training alongside former IBF world junior flyweight titleholder Felix Alvarado.

Prior to moving to Miami, Guerrero and former four-division world titleholder Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez would spar often. Ramirez stated Guerrero has some attributes that remind him of Gonzalez.

Guerrero has only fought twice in 2022 and in 2023. Ramirez hopes to have Guerrero fight four times in 2024, but that depends what sanctioning bodies could do if an opportunity arises for Guerrero.

The WBA ranks Guerrero No. 14 and will hold a convention later this week in Orlando.

“It all depends if we get an offer based on the rankings by the WBA or another sanctioning body,” said Ramirez. “For any fight, we will take anything into consideration. I would like for Winston to fight often.

“We believe Winston is already a top-10 fighter. He’s a workhorse, is getting better and has the same mentality as ‘Chocolatito.’ We hopes Winston becomes the next great champion from Nicaragua.”

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]

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