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FAMILY: A lifelong resident of Gilroy, Calif., Guerrero grew up in a family with four brothers. His father Ruben was a two-time Golden Gloves champion in San Francisco, and his brothers Ruben Jr. and Victor were amateur standouts, and captured Golden Glove titles as well. Married to his high school sweetheart Casey, the couple welcomed a daughter, Savannah Rose, on March 13, 2005, while newborn son Robert Jr was brought into this world on February 17 2007.
WHY BOXING: "I used to go to the gym just to watch my father and my two boxing brothers," Guerrero said. "I was never old enough to box, but I would copy what others did and try to hit the bags. Once I got old enough, I just did it. I was nine."
Robert was a standout running back for the Gilroy Browns Pop-Warner football team where he played for 3 years before training on boxing full time. A starter all three years, Guerrero was hounded by the high school coaches to play for them when he was a freshman. But boxing was in his blood and Guerrero decided to embark on an amateur career instead, with dreams of making the 2000 U.S. Olympic team.
During his amateur career, Guerrero was the youngest boxer (16 years old) at the January 2000 Western Olympic Trials held in Boise, Idaho. Guerrero made a dominating debut as he won a 37-8 decision over Fidencio Reyes. In his second fight Guerrero pitched a 13-0 shutout win over Carlos Sanchez. In the semi-finals Guerrero pounded out an 18-7 decision over Allen Litzau and in the finals Guerrero outpointed Shane Stoneman by an 8-3 margin. Not only did he win the 119-pound division title, he also was voted the outstanding boxer of the ESPN-televised tournament.
A month later, Guerrero competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in Tampa, Fla. He got off to an impressive start when he earned a 10-7 decision over Jason Franco. However, his dream of making the U.S. Olympic Boxing team ended when he ran into Clarence Vinson in the next round and was on the short end of a 9-1 decision. Vinson went on to win a bronze medal as a member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic boxing team, and Guerrero decided to turn pro.
Fourteen months after his second-round loss at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Guerrero made his pro debut at the tender age of 18. His April 2001 four-round, unanimous decision victory over Alejandro Cruz in Indio, California was the first of 11 straight wins to launch his career.
Unlike many young fighters with great potential starting out their pro careers, Guerrero wasn’t spoon-fed grossly overmatched opponents to pad his record with knockouts. Instead, the strategy devised by his trainer, John Bray, and manager, Shelly Finkel, was to match him up with durable, competent boxers who would provide Guerrero with the rounds he needed to gain ring experience. The knockouts would come later.
That ring experience early on would prove invaluable to Guerrero as his career progressed. Whereas seven of his first eight wins were route-going performances, not a single one of his last 10 victims has been on his feet to hear the final bell.
After winning his first 11 bouts, Guerrero sustained the first blemish on his perfect record when referee Lou Filippo ruled his bout with Julian Rodriguez a technical draw in March 2004. Rodriguez, who was hit after the first-round bell, was unable to continue resulting in the decision to stop the contest.
Guerrero collected himself and started his impressive knockout string a month later with second and 8th-round TKOs of Juan Polo Perez and Enrique Sanchez. These impressive performances raised his record to 13-0-1 and earned his a shot at the NABF Featherweight title against champion Cesar Figueroa in December 2004 at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California.
Guerrero dominated the bout from the opening bell and, sensing a taste of his first pro title, he knocked Figueroa to the canvas twice in the fourth round. Referee Raul Caiz stopped the onslaught at :59 of the round and raised Guerrero’s hand in victory.
The Gilroy native made his first three title defenses in nearby Lemoore, a short two-hour drive for his legion of hometown fans to come out and show their support. His first two efforts at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino were successful, as he stopped both Adrian Valdez and Sammy Ventura. However, the third time was no charm, as he suffered his first and only loss to date as a pro – and his NABF crown – by split decision to the rugged Gamaliel Diaz last December.
Determined to prove that it was merely a matter of being off his game that night and bent on reclaiming the NABF title, Guerrero, a month after a third-round TKO win over Sandro Marcos, avenged the defeat and recaptured the belt – with a dominant performance against Diaz in Oakland, California back in June. The victory, which culminated with the southpaw dropping Diaz with a vicious, perfectly-placed left hook to the body in the sixth round, carried added significance for Guerrero because the bout was also a WBC Featherweight Title Eliminator.
First World Title Victory: Before a WBC title bout with champion Rodolfo Lopez could be arranged, Guerrero was offered the opportunity to meet Eric Aiken for his IBF Featherweight belt at Staples Center in Los Angeles on September 2nd of 2006. Before a large throng of vocal hometown supporters and a television audience watching at home on Showtime, “The Ghost” took full advantage of his title shot and pounded Aiken into submission after eight dominant rounds to fulfill his dream of becoming a world champion.
First Title Defense: Guerrero lost his IBF Featherweight title by unanimous decision to the division’s top-rated contender, Mexico’s Orlando Salido, in the first defense of his world title in the Semi-Main Event on the highly anticipated ‘PRETTY RISKY” extravaganza at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on Saturday night, November 4th.
On the HBO Pay-Per-View telecast, Guerrero couldn’t muster enough of an attack to outwork his challenger. However, a post-fight urinalysis may have revealed the reason for this: Salido was found to have the popular banned steroid Nandrolone in his system.
Testing positive will most likely find Salido stripped of his title and Guerrero would get a shot at another highly-ranked IBF opponent for the vacant tile. Guerrero will now challenge Spend Abazzi on February 23, 2007 in Copenhagen, Denmark for the vacant title.
PRESENT: February 29, 2008 on Showtime at the Tachi Palace Hotel Casino in Lemoore, CA. he defends his title vs Jason Litzau
EDUCATION: Robert went through the Gilroy public school system and graduated Gilroy High School in 2001. In his earlier years he attended Glenview Elementary and Brownell Junior High.
CHILDHOOD HERO: “I never had a hero growing up. I just looked up to my two older brothers and my dad. Having 2 older brothers and a dad in the gym made me want to be like them. They inspired me to be in the gym training and boxing.”
PEOPLE MOST ADMIRED: “Jesus Christ. To be honest, I don’t idolize anybody. I respect all people. I really respect Oscar De La Hoya. He opened doors to a lot of fans and brought them back to boxing.”
EARLIEST BOXING MEMORY: “Probably my first amateur fight. I just remember getting ready to get in the ring. I won, but don’t remember who I fought.”
GREATEST SPORTS MOMENT: “When I won the Junior Olympics at 15 years old. It was the first major boxing tournament I had ever been to.”
PRE-FIGHT FEELING: “I get really excited. I can’t wait to get into the ring. I like to land that first shot and feel my knuckles dig into somebody. Then I calm down and fight my fight.”
HOBBIES/INTERESTS: “I’m a real car lover, as well as being in church all the time and spending time with the lord.”
FAVORITE CAR: “My favorite car is a 1956 Cadillac. It’s just a beautiful car, big body, lots of character and detail on the car.”
FIRST CAR: “A 1994 Chevy S-10 truck, custom painted Cortez blue pearl.”
FAVORITE MOVIE: I’d have to say ‘The Warriors’. It’s about this gang from Coney Island which goes to a huge gang meeting in the Bronx where the leader of New York’s largest gang gets them all together for a truce and to try and convince all the gangs to unite into one big one. When somebody shoots and kills him, someone falsely accuses the Warriors and, all the gangs chase after them. They’re about 20 miles from home and they have to walk and fight the other gangs to make their way back home.”
FAVORITE MUSIC: “I like many types of music: country, rock, gospel, Christian rock…a bunch of different styles.”
FAVORITE MOVIE: “I’d have to say, ‘The Warriors’. It’s about this gang from NY and they go to huge gang meeting and a big fight breaks out. Somebody kills the main guy running the meeting. The other gangs think it was the Warriors who killed the main guy and they chase them for miles. They’re about 20 miles from home and they have to walk and fight their way back.
FAVORITE MEAL: “Pepperoni Pizza”
FAVORITE BREAKFAST CEREAL: “Kix”
FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR(S): “Cookie Dough.”
FIRST JOB: “It was with my dad building fences. Dad was a fence contractor. I used to have to carrying cement and dig holes. It helped me stay in great shape and get stronger.”
FAVORITE BOXERS TO WATCH: “There’s quite a few of them. Oscar De La Hoya, Rocky Juarez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Eric Morales and Manny Pacquiao. They are all exciting fighters, they come to fight and put on great shows. Fans love to watch them.”
TOUGHEST OPPONENT: “It would have to be Orlando Salido. I hit him with some deadly shots and he didn’t budge.
FAVORITE FIGHT: “That last fight with Diaz, I’d have to say. He came out victorious in our first fight and I came back and knocked him out in the rematch and regained my NABF title.”
MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: “Probably when I was like 5 years old and went to school with my pants on backwards. My teacher said ‘you are wearing your pants on backwards.’ I had to go to rest room and get them on straight.”
CHILDHOOD DREAMS: “I either wanted to drive NASCAR or be a jet fighter pilot.”
GOALS: “Ever since getting into boxing my goal is to be a world champion. I have that opportunity on Feb 23 and I will do my best to accomplish that goal.”
THINGS YOU WOULD LIKE BOXING FANS TO KNOW ABOUT YOU: “That I am devoted to my belief in Christ and I’m a devoted family man to my wife and family.
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