Robert Joseph Guerrero (born March 27, 1983) is an American
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
. He has held world championships in two
weight classes
Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling). Altern ...
, including the
IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Boxing
Professional boxing
History
A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, t ...
title twice between 2006 and 2008, and the IBF
junior lightweight
Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between and .
The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the New Y ...
title from 2009 to 2010. Additionally he has held multiple
interim
An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities.
Interim may also refer to:
Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept)
*Provis ...
titles at
lightweight
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing.
Boxing
Professional boxing
The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing.
Notable lightweight ...
and
welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...
.
Professional career
Featherweight
Early career
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
Gilroy is a city in Northern California's Santa Clara County, south of Morgan Hill and north of San Benito County. Gilroy is the southernmost city in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a population of 56,766 as of the 2019 U.S. Census Projectio ...
. After an impressive amateur career begun at a very young age, Robert 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
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
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 Eric Aiken by an eighth-round technical knockout in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. 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
Orlando Salido
Orlando Salido Rivera (born November 16, 1980) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He is a multiple-time former world champion in two weight classes, having held the IBF featherweight title in 2010; the WBO fe ...
in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the 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. 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
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, Denmark on February 23, 2007, against
Albanian boxer Spend Abazi.
Guerrero's second defense of his second title was to be against
Rocky Juarez
Ricardo "Rocky" Juárez (born April 15, 1980) is an American former professional boxer. He is a former WBC Silver featherweight champion and a multiple-time world title challenger. Juarez was known over his career for his aggressive fighting styl ...
(27–3, 19 KOs); however, Juarez chose to meet WBC Super Featherweight Champion
Juan Manuel Márquez
Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez (born August 23, 1973) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He is known for defeating Manny Pacquiao. He is the third Mexican boxer (after Érik Morales and Jorge Arce) to become a ...
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 was diagnosed with
leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
. Guerrero defeated Honorio in a first round knock-out.
On February 29, 2008, Guerrero defeated
Jason Litzau via an eighth round knock out. Guerrero then vacated the title to move up in weight.
Super featherweight
Guerrero vs. Yordan
On March 7, 2009, Guerrero fought
Daud Yordan
Daud "Cino" Yordan (born 10 June 1987) is an Indonesian professional boxer and former IBO Featherweight and Lightweight Champion.
Early life and family
Yordan was born in Ketapang, West Borneo, Indonesia on 10 June 1987. He is the fifth child o ...
in his
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
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.
Guerrero vs. Hinojosa
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 eighth round
TKO victory. After the bout, the media described him as having redeemed himself for his previous lackluster effort.
Guerrero vs. Klassen
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.
In February 2010, Guerrero vacated his Featherweight title in order to care for his ailing wife.
Lightweight
Guererro vs. Arrieta
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. Guerrero won the fight by TKO in the 8th round.
After the bout, Guerrero expressed his interest in fighting Mexican champion
Juan Manuel Márquez
Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez (born August 23, 1973) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He is known for defeating Manny Pacquiao. He is the third Mexican boxer (after Érik Morales and Jorge Arce) to become a ...
.
Light welterweight
Guerrero vs. Casamayor
On July 31, 2010, Guerrero moved up to the junior welterweight division and faced
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
n fighter
Joel Casamayor
Joel Casamayor Johnson (born July 12, 1971) is a Cuban American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2011. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBA super featherweight title from 2000 to 2002; and the ...
on the undercard of the
Marquez vs. Diaz pay-per-view at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Guerrero defeated Casamayor by a 10-round unanimous decision.
Return to lightweight
Guerrero vs. Escobedo
On November 6, 2010, he faced
Vicente Escobedo
Vicente Escobedo (born November 6, 1981) is an American professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2013. As an amateur, he represented his country at the 2003 World Championships and the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Amateur career
As an amateur Es ...
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.
Guerrero vs. Katsidis
On April 9, 2011, Guerrero faced
Michael Katsidis
Michael Alan Katsidis ( ; el, Μιχάλης Κατσίδης; born 15 August 1980) is an Australian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He held the WBO interim lightweight title twice between 2007 and 2010, and challeng ...
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 about 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
Marcos René Maidana (born 17 July 1983) is an Argentine former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2014. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBA (Regular) super lightweight title from 2011 to 2012, and the ...
in August for the WBA junior 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 was out of the ring for 6 months.
Welterweight
Guerrero vs. Aydin
Guerrero returned to the ring by jumping two weight classes to face unbeaten top 10 welterweight
Selcuk Aydin Selcuk may refer to:
* Selçuk (name)
* Seljuk (died c. 1038), leader of the Seljuk Turks
** Seljuq dynasty, the dynasty founded by Seljuk
** Seljuq Empire, the medieval empire founded and ruled by the dynasty
** Seljuq Sultanate of Rum
fa, س ...
. On July 28, 2012 Guerrero defeated Aydin in
San Jose, California by unanimous decision for the
interim
An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities.
Interim may also refer to:
Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept)
*Provis ...
WBC welterweight title.
Guerrero vs. Berto
Guerrero's next fight was against former two-time
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...
champion
Andre Berto
Andre Michael Berto (born September 7, 1983) is a professional boxer who holds dual American and Haitian citizenship. He is a two-time former welterweight world champion, having held the WBC and IBF titles between 2008 and 2011, as well as the ...
(28–1, 22 KO) at the Citizens Bank Business Arena in
Ontario, California
Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...
. 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. Guerrero had a purse of $1 million, while Berto's purse was $1.625 million. In the post fight interview, Guerrero called out pound-for-pound champion Floyd Mayweather saying, "Pretty Boy, let's do it."
Guerrero vs. Mayweather
On May 4, 2013 in a fight billed as ''May Day''
', Guerrero lost to
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...
(43–0, 26 KOs) in the
WBC Welterweight Championship fight by a unanimous decision in front of a 15,880 crowd at the
MGM Grand arena, with all judges scoring the fight 117–111 in favor of Mayweather. Guerrero won the first 3 rounds, then Mayweather adjusted back to his defensive style and won from the 4th to 12th round. Mayweather landing a high 60 percent of his power punches, which included 23 of 30 power punches in the eighth round, when Guerrero was cut over his left eye. Throughout the fight, Mayweather landed 195 punches to 113 for Guerrero. Guerrero reportedly earned a career high of $3 million and the fight exceeded 1 million ppv buys.
Guerrero vs. Kamegai
Guerrero took off a full year before returning to the ring on June 21, 2014 to fight Japanese boxer
Yoshihiro Kamegai
Yoshihiro Kamegai (亀海喜寛 ''Kamegai Yoshihiro'', born November 12, 1982) is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2018. affiliated with the Teiken Boxing Gym and Golden Boy Promotions. He secured the Japanese super ...
. Guererro could hardly open his left eye toward the end of the fight, but scored a unanimous 12-round decision over the tough Kamegai with official scores of 116–112, 117–111, and 117–111, thereby marking a triumphant return to the ring.
Guerrero vs. Thurman
On March 7, Guerrero fought in
NBC's first episode of their new series, "
Premier Boxing Champions
''Premier Boxing Champions'' (PBC) is an ongoing series of televised boxing events connected to manager Al Haymon.
PBC was initially promoted as an effort to return boxing to mainstream broadcast and cable television, as opposed to premium chann ...
" at the
MGM Grand in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. Guerrero's opponent was undefeated
Keith Thurman
Keith Fitzgerald Thurman Jr. (born November 23, 1988) is an American professional boxer. He is a former unified welterweight world champion, having held the WBA title from 2015 to 2019 (promoted to Super champion in 2017), and the WBC title fr ...
. 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.
Guerrero vs. Martinez
On June 6, 2015 Guerrero fought again on NBC as part of the "Premier Boxing Champions" series at
StubHub Center
Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dignit ...
, 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.
Guerrero vs. Garcia
On January 23, 2016 Guerrero fought on
FOX
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
as part of the "Premier Boxing Champions" series at
Staples Center,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, against the undefeated
Danny Garcia (31–0–0, 18 KO) for the vacant
WBC Welterweight Championship. The match was ruled a unanimous decision in favor of Garcia with all three judges scoring the bout 116–112, despite fighting on near-equal terms. Guerrero started off impressive, but became less effective late in the fight falling to a 3rd career defeat in a welterweight title fight. Garcia landed 163 of 496 thrown (33%), whilst Guerrero landed 108 of 436 punches thrown (25%).
Guerrero vs. Peralta
Guerrero's next fight was announced on July 16, to take place at the
Honda Center
The Honda Center (formerly known as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim) is an indoor arena located in Anaheim, California. The arena is home to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League.
Originally named the Anaheim Arena during construction ...
in
Anaheim
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
against Argentine boxer
David Emanuel Peralta (25–2–1, 14 KOs) on August 27. Guerrero was outboxed, outclassed and beaten by Peralta. The judges decided after 12 rounds Peralta won by split decision, handing Guerrero his 4th loss in his last six fights.
Guerrero vs. Figueroa Jr.
On May 23, 2017 it was announced that Guerrero would fight at the renovated
Nassau Coliseum in
Uniondale, New York
Uniondale is a census-designated place (CDP), as well as a suburb in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead, New York, Town of Hempstead. The population was 32,473 at the 2020 ...
against undefeated former WBC lightweight champion
Omar Figueroa Jr. (26–0–1, 18 KOs) on July 15, 2017. The bout will take place as part of a triple header main event which would include
Sean Monaghan
Sean Monaghan (born May 21, 1981) is an American professional boxer of Irish descent competing in the light-heavyweight division.
Background
Before he was a professional boxer, he had a job as a bricklayer. His parents are from County Meath, ...
vs.
Marcus Browne
Marcus Browne (born November 10, 1990) is an American professional boxer who fights at light heavyweight. As of December 2020, he was ranked the world's sixth best active light heavyweight by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, eighth by ...
. Before this fight, Figueroa last fought in December 2015. The first boxing event to take place at the Coliseum in 31 years saw Guerrero stopped in the third round in front of a crowd of 7,492. Figueroa dropped Guerrero a total five times before the fight was halted. According to Compubox stats, Figueroa landed 88 of his 185 punches thrown (48%), whilst Guerrero landed 78 of 201 thrown (39%). Guerrero saw success in round 1, but the fight turned around when Figueroa landed a huge left hook knocking Guerrero down and eventually handing him his third consecutive loss. According to
Nielsen Media
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, the fight peaked at 1,039,000 viewers on Fox. The whole show averaged 886,000 viewers.
Retirement
A couple of days following his first stoppage loss, Guerrero announced his retirement from professional boxing after 16 years. Guerrero had been on a decline, since losing to Floyd Mayweather in 2013. He had only won two of his last six fights. Guerrero said in a statement,
In the statement, he also thanked advisor
Al Haymon
Al Haymon (born April 21, 1955) is an American businessman and boxing manager. He was the manager of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and has won the Boxing Writers of America Manager of the Year Award five times.
Early life
Haymon was raised in Cleveland, ...
and praised him as "the most special man" he ever met in his boxing career. He ended his career with 33 wins out of 42 fights, including 18 wins coming inside the distance.
Comeback
Guerrero vs. Mate
On November 8, 2018 Guerrero surprisingly announced he would be returning to the boxing ring, stating he had 'some fight left' and also wanting to further his legacy. According to ESPN, his return bout would take place on December 1 on the
Wilder vs. Fury Showtime PPV card at the
Staples Center in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. Guerrero was scheduled to fight 27-year-old Hungarian boxer Adam Mate (28–12, 21 KOs) in a 10-round welterweight bout. For the comeback, Guerrero was guaranteed a $25,000 purse. Fighting for the first time in 16 months, Guerrero knocked out Mate in round 2 of their scheduled 8 round bout. Mate was knocked down once in round 1, taking a knee and twice in round 2. After beating the count for the second knockdown, referee Ray Corona stopped the fight. It was Guerrero's first stoppage win in 13 fights, dating back to April 2010.
Guerrero vs. Herrera
In his next fight, Guerrero defeated Hevinson Herera via a fifth round technical knockout.
Guerrero vs. Thomas
In his following fight, Guerrero fought Gerald Thomas. Guerrero won the fight via unanimous decision, scoring 99-91, 99-91 and 98-92 on the scorecards.
Guerrero vs. Ortiz
On August 21, 2021, Guerrero faced former world champion Victor Ortiz. In a fight that lacked action at times, all three judges uniformly saw Guerrero as the narrow winner, with all of them scoring it 96-94 in favor of Guerrero.
Professional boxing record
Pay-per-view bouts
Filmography
References
External links
*
Robert Guerrero profileat ''
Premier Boxing Champions
''Premier Boxing Champions'' (PBC) is an ongoing series of televised boxing events connected to manager Al Haymon.
PBC was initially promoted as an effort to return boxing to mainstream broadcast and cable television, as opposed to premium chann ...
''
Robert Guerrero - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankingsa
Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guerrero, Robert
1983 births
Living people
American boxers of Mexican descent
Boxers from California
People from Gilroy, California
Southpaw boxers
Lightweight boxers
Welterweight boxers
International Boxing Federation champions
American male boxers
World featherweight boxing champions
World super-featherweight boxing champions
Gilroy High School alumni