Robert Guerrero

Robert Guerrero
Statistics
Real name	Robert Joseph Guerrero
Nickname(s)	The Ghost
Rated at	Featherweight Super featherweight Lightweight Welterweight
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Reach	70 in (178 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	March 27, 1983 Gilroy, California, U.S.
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	40
Wins	33
Wins by KO	18
Losses	4
Draws	1
No contests	2
Medal record Men's boxing US National Championships 2000 Colorado Springs Bantamweight

Robert Joseph Guerrero (born March 27, 1983) is an American professional boxer. He is a former two-weight world champion, having held the IBF featherweight (twice) and super featherweight titles. He is also a former WBA and WBO interim lightweight and WBC interim welterweight champion.^[1][2][3] Guerrero is trained by his father Ruben Guerrero, a former amateur champion, who introduced Robert and his five brothers to boxing as youngsters growing up in Gilroy, California.^[4]

Professional career

Featherweight

After an impressive amateur career begun at a very young age, Guerrero turned professional, at the age of 18, on May 22, 2001 with a four-round unanimous decision win against Alejandro Cruz. After several wins and only a single draw later, Guerrero won the WBC NABF Featherweight title against Cesar Figueroa on December 9, 2004. Defending his NABF title twice, Guerrero was seen as a rising prospect, until meeting Gamaliel Diaz in a bout televised on ShoBox, on the Showtime channel, on December 12, 2005. An aggressive Diaz upset Guerrero, winning by split decision and taking the NABF belt in the process.

Guerrero rebounded from his first loss by defeating Sandros Marcos via third-round technical knock-out, setting up a rematch against Diaz, again on Showtime. Guerrero knocked down Diaz in the first round, and eventually knocking out Diaz early in the sixth round. The win set him up to face IBF champion Eric Aiken.

Featherweight title

In his first world championship fight on September 2, 2006, Guerrero defeated Aiken by an eighth-round technical knockout in Los Angeles. Guerrero used inside fighting, neutralizing Aiken's power, and eventually making Aiken quit on his stool after the eighth round to earn his first world title belt.

Guerrero vs. Salido

Guerrero lost the belt in his next fight in a mandatory defense to future Featherweight champion Orlando Salido in Las Vegas. Salido dominated the majority of the bout and pulled off an upset decision win with scores of 115-113, 117-111, 118-110.^[5] However, Salido would subsequently be stripped of the IBF title after testing positive for steroids, thus vacating the belt; the result of the bout would also be changed to a twelve-round no decision by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The IBF subsequently gave Guerrero the shot at the vacant featherweight title, which he won by ninth-round technical knockout in Copenhagen, Denmark on February 23, 2007, against Albanian boxer Spend Abazi.

Guerrero's second defense of his second title was to be against Rocky Juarez (27-3, 19 KOs); however, Juarez chose to meet WBC Super Featherweight Champion Juan Manuel Márquez in a money fight instead. Guerrero's first defense was scheduled to be against Martin Honorio (24-3-1) on November 3, 2007, and was televised on Showtime, on the undercard of the Marquez-Juarez match. Guerrero was unable to attend the final press conference before the match after his wife Casey^[6] was diagnosed with leukemia. Guerrero defeated Honorio in a first round knock-out.

On February 29, 2008, Guerrero defeated Jason Litzau via an eighth round knock out.^[7] Guerrero then vacated the title to move up in weight.

Super Featherweight

Guerrero vs. Yordan

On March 7, 2009, Guerrero fought Daud Yordan in his HBO debut. The fight ended in a second round "no contest" decision after Guerrero suffered a headbutt resulting in a gash above his eye. After the bout Guerrero offered Yordan a rematch, however, Yordan reportedly declined.^[8]

On June 12, 2009, Guerrero faced Efren Hinojosa (30-5-1). He suffered another deep cut near his left eye from a head-butt in the seventh round, but this time it did not slow his progress as he scored an 8th round TKO victory. After the bout, the media described him as having redeemed himself for his previous lackluster effort.^[9][10]

On August 22, 2009, Guerrero challenged Malcolm Klassen for his IBF Super Featherweight title. Guerrero won the fight by a unanimous decision to claim the world title. The scores were 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 in his favor.^[11]

In February 2010, Guerrero vacated his Featherweight title in order to care for his ailing wife.

Lightweight

On April 30, 2010, Guerrero moved up to the lightweight division to fight Robert Arrieta (35-15-4). The bout took place at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.^[12] Guerrero won the fight by TKO in the 8th round.^[13]

After the bout, Guerrero expressed his interest in fighting Mexican champion Juan Manuel Márquez.^[14]

Guerrero vs. Casamayor

On July 31, 2010, Guerrero moved up to the junior welterweight division and faced Cuban fighter Joel Casamayor on the undercard of the Marquez vs. Diaz pay-per-view at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.^[15] Guerrero defeated Casamayor by a 10 round unanimous decision.^[16] On November 6, 2010, he faced Vicente Escobedo for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title. Guerrero knocked Escobedo down in the third and sixth rounds en route to a ten round unanimous decision.^[17] On April 9, 2011, Guerrero faced Michael Katsidis for the interim WBA and WBO lightweight titles. Guerrero won the bout with a 12 round unanimous decision.In a post fight interview when asked on his hometown he said,"It's nice when you're pretty much their biggest thing besides garlic in Gilroy." Guerrero was scheduled to face Marcos Maidana in August for the WBA jr welterweight title, however, he was forced to pull out of the bout after suffering a torn tendon in his rotator cuff. He underwent surgery to repair the injury and could be out of the ring for up to 6 months.^[18]

Return to the ring

Guerrero returned to the ring by jumping two weight classes, to face unbeaten Top 10 Welterweight Selcuk Aydin. On July 28, 2012 Robert Guerrero defeated Aydin in San Jose, California by unanimous decision for the interim WBC welterweight title.^[19]

Guerrero vs. Berto

Guerrero's next fight was against former two-time Welterweight champion Andre Berto. Guerrero started off the fight fast, sending Berto to the canvas each of the first two rounds, as well as badly closing Berto's right eye early on. Berto got back into the fight during the middle rounds, landing hard uppercuts and right hands on Guerrero, who took the punches well. Throughout the fight the two traded punches with Berto on the ropes and Guerrero smothering him, while out working him the majority of the time. By the end of the fight, both of Berto's eyes and Guerrero's right eye were closed shut. Guerrero won a unanimous decision by the scores of 116-110 on all three scorecards. In the post fight interview, Guerrero called out pound-for-pound champion Floyd Mayweather.

Guerrero vs. Mayweather

On May 4, 2013 Guerrero lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr in the WBC Welterweight Championship fight by a unanimous decision, with all judges scoring the fight 117-111 in favor of Mayweather. Mayweather won by easily outboxing Guerrero from inside the pocket.

Guerrero vs. Kamegai

Guerrero took off a full year before returning to the ring to fight the Japanese Yoshihiro Kamegai. 'The Ghost' could hardly open his left eye toward the end of the fight, but scored a unanimous 12 round decision over the tough Kamegai,^[20] thereby marking a triumphant return to the ring.

Guerrero vs. Thurman

On March 7, Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero fought in NBC's first episode of their new series, "Premier Boxing Champions" at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Guerrero's opponent, Keith "One-Time" Thurman, started off the match as the aggressor, throwing many powerful punches. Guerrero was able to withstand Thurman's blows until he was knocked down in the ninth round. Although the fight seemed bleak for Guerrero he was able to fight back, giving an exciting final three rounds in which he became the aggressor and forced Thurman against the ropes. Ultimately, "The Ghost" lost by unanimous decision but Guerrero's determination and strong will to win had the crowd of the MGM Grand chanting his name for the majority of the final round. ^{[21] [22]}

Guerrero vs. Martinez

On June 6, 2015 Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero fought again on NBC as part of the "Premier Boxing Champions" series at StubHub Center, California, against the gritty Aron Martinez (19-4-1, 4 KOs). Martinez proved himself to be an underdog with bite. The action got going in earnest in Round 2, with both fighters working the body hard in some grueling infighting. Martinez continued to press the action in Round 4, scoring a knockdown at the end with hard body shots and then combinations to the head. But the momentum of the fight began to swing back in Guerrero’s direction in Round 6, when he fought more from the outside. Both fighters had their moments in the latter half of the fight, but it was Guerrero who was able to control the distance, outland Martinez and pull out a split-decision win in a feisty back-and-forth battle.^[23]

Guerrero vs. Garcia

On January 23, 2016 Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero fought on FOX as part of the "Premier Boxing Champions" series at Staples Center, California, against the undefeated Danny "Swift" Garcia (31-0-0, 18 KO) for the vacant WBC Welterweight Championship. The match was ruled a unanimous decision in favor of Garcia despite fighting on near-equal terms.

Professional boxing record

Documentary

The Ghost (2010) documents the life of three-time world champion boxer Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero. It was directed by Andrew Johnston, in association with Golden Boy Promotions.

References

1. Coppinger, Mike (2012-11-25). "Guerrero outworks Berto for interim welterweight title". Usatoday.com. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
2. "Brave Katsidis outpointed by American in title defence". Smh.com.au. 2011-04-11. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
4. http://www.premierboxingchampions.com/robert-guerrero
5. "Guerrero loses featherweight belt to Salido in Vegas - boxing - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2006-11-04. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
6. "Casey Guerrero Robert Guerrero's Wife". Fabwags.com. Retrieved 2012-2-18. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
7. "AFP: Guerrero stops Litzau to retain IBF featherweight title". Afp.google.com. 2008-03-01. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
8. "Robert 'The Ghost' Guerrero | News & Culture | Feature Story". Metroactive.com. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
9. Beacham, Greg (June 13, 2009). "Guerrero back on track with win over Hinojosa". USA Today.
10. Archived August 31, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
11. "Guerrero claims Klassy win". Sky Sports. 2009-08-23.
12. "Happy returns: Robert Guerrero wanted to fight Roberto Arrieta in April 30 - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2010-04-03. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
13. Sandoval, Luis (2010-04-30). "Robert Guerrero Stops Robert Arrieta, Full Event Review". BoxingScene.com.
14. Burton, Ryan (05-04-2010). "Robert Guerrero Eyes Juan Manuel Marquez Showdown". BoxingScene.com. Check date values in: |date= (help)
15. Reeno, Rick (May 13, 2010). "Guerrero vs Casamayor in Play For Marquez-Diaz PPV". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
16. "Guerrero defeats Casamayor, Linares defeats Juarez, Pirog, Groves, Mendy, Gomez, Mitchell all win". Boxingnews24.com. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
17. "Robert Guerrero Decisions Vicente Escobedo Over Ten - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 2010-11-07. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
18. Satterfield, Lem (2011-08-24). "Breaking news: Guerrero to have arthroscopic surgery on shoulder | RingTV". Ringtv.craveonline.com. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
19. "Robert Guerrero: Once I beat Aydin, I’ll have Floyd’s belt & be ready for him". ProBoxing-Fans.com. 2012-06-12. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
20. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/boxing/guerrero-kamegai-latest-in-series-of-stirring-brawls-at-stubhub-center-051837421.html
21. http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/12442553/keith-thurman-dominates-robert-guerrero-retain-welterweight-world-title
22. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2389204-keith-thurman-ready-for-elite-fights-after-convincing-win-vs-robert-guerrero
23. http://www.premierboxingchampions.com/news/robert-guerrero-outlasts-aron-martinez-rugged-war-attrition

External links

• Professional boxing record for Robert Guerrero from BoxRec
• Robert Guerrero on Premier Boxing Champions
• Robert Guerrero on Facebook
• Robert Guerrero on Twitter
• Robert Guerrero on Instagram