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Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero
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I’ve always seemed to find myself rooting for the dark horses. You know, the type of fighters who don’t seem to get as much attention as the rest of the crop but still continue marching forward in their career. Often times you will see those fighters come out of the shadows and shake things up with a big win and/or hot winning streak. It's refreshing to see, because a lot of people will sit back and ask ‘Where did this fighter come from?’ while deep down you knew he/she was capable of great things all along. With young talent like Miguel Cotto, Jeff Lacy, Juan Diaz, Rocky Juarez, and others getting a lot of attention in the fight game, I have always considered Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero somewhat of a dark horse.
It had been a while since I last talked to the rising Featherweight and in that time a lot has changed. Guerrero has a new trainer in John Bray, is now the NABF Champion after knocking out Cesar Figuero in early December, and also finds himself entering a new year with his sights set high in the boxing world. Bragging Rights Corner caught up with Robert and talked about his last fight, other fighters in his division, big fights coming up in 2005, and much more. Here’s what we discussed, topic to topic…
Knocking out Cesar Figuero in 4 rounds at the Pechanga Resort and Casino…
“He came to fight. He was ready for this fight. He had all the time in the world to get ready for me. I went in there and just started working my jab and everything came into place from there. He started getting frustrated and I started taking him apart. He started forcing his way in so I set him up with body shots and he wasn’t liking it at all. I just kept throwing shots to the body and then back up to the head and in the 4th round I hit him with a good body shot that forced him to drop his hands and I came right over the top with the left hand that put him down.”
The crowd at the Pechanga…
“ It was a great crowd. They were really hyped up. I was pleased because there were a lot of kids there from the ages of 9 and up and I was happy to see children there to watch me fight and the crowd was great. They were real lively. To see kids at boxing matches and cheering and enjoying the sport made me really happy.”
Working with new trainer John Bray…
“ It's going great. He’s just shown me a lot, really getting my technique down, boxing a lot more and throwing my jab. Throwing triple and double jabs and hooking off of them while also adding body shots into the mix. He really worked on educating my right hand and that’s what I needed because everything’s starting to fall into place.
Going from the hustle and bustle of the Wild Card Gym to a private gym in Los Angeles…
“ It’s great because John and I have that one on one time. No distractions or disturbance. You do what you have to do. Get in and get out and that’s the way I like it, with just me and the trainer and that’s it. To get the technique down you need a lot of time alone with the trainer to really get what’s going on. In a crowded gym it’s hard because there’s so much racket going on. When it’s just you and the trainer it’s like being in a library, as opposed to being out on the playground and trying to study.”
Sizing up fellow Featherweight prospect Rocky Juarez…
“ He’s a real solid featherweight. He’s coming on real strong too, he just knocked out Guty Espadas in the 2nd round. The guy has a real powerful left hook. He’s a good fighter but any boxer will give him trouble. He’s only 5' 4" and anyone with a reach who knows how to use their jab and some lateral movement will give him trouble because he needs to be inside to land his shots. Guty Espadas just stood there for him to nail him. If I were to fight Juarez I would be the matador. I’d establish my jab, give him side to side movement, keep him turning and keep him away from the inside. Once he’s on the inside he’s very dangerous.”
Thoughts on WBO Featherweight champ Scott Harrison…
“ He’s a very tough, rugged customer. He’s the type of guy who is just on you the whole time. He’s the type of guy who loves contact. He’s another guy who you just would have to box against because he wants to be there inside with you. If you have the height and reach, you can catch him and start running him into shots.”
A hopeful Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo unification bout….
“ I’ve sparred with Diego before and anything can happen with him. He has dynamite in his hands. He could be losing every round but if he catches you it could be ‘goodnight’. But you also have to look at it to where Diego’s the type of fighter who doesn’t move a lot and he’s always looking for that big shot. Castillo on the other hand stays busy, he comes to fight. He won’t be looking for the big shot, he’ll just be looking to put it on you. It’s going to be a real good fight.
"I think I would pick Corrales in that one because Joe Goossen has helped him a lot with his jab. Once you add a good jab to somebody who has height and reach they become pretty hard to fight. Corrales is also a dynamite puncher and if he gets his jab going and beats you to the punch he’ll probably knock you out.”
Looking at Floyd Mayweather, who has a fight with Henry Bruseles lined up on January 22nd…
“ He’s very fast and slick. He gets in there and gets the job done. A lot of people don’t like his style but he’s effective and he fights his fight. He does what he needs to do. A lot of people like seeing fights like Lazcano-Castillo and Harrison-McCullough but those fights hurt your career in the long run.”
A potential all-action throwdown between Arturo Gatti and Jesse James Leija late January…
“ I think Arturo Gatti will pull it out because he’s been busy the last few years. I was very impressed in Gatti’s last fight, his body shot knockout over [Leonard] Dorin. Jesse James fights just every once a while. One thing that could hurt Gatti is his fights against Micky Ward. He stayed busy with those fights but they take a lot out of your body.
"I was surprised when Leija beat Bojado but it's hard to gauge him off of that fight because you never know what fighting shape Bojado comes in at. Sometimes he comes in great shape while other times he looks like he half-stepped. It's hard to tell where a fighter like Leija is at after they beat somebody who might not have been in the best of shape and done what it takes to be ready. Personally I think ‘Panchito’ Bojado should be at 130 or 135, not 140. I thought Bojado would knock him out in the first 4 rounds, I mean he had Leija rocked badly. That’s where the spirit comes into play. If you’re not in great shape these guys are going to take you into deep waters and you better be ready.”
The Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez rematch scheduled for Feb. 26th on HBO…
‘ I think Marquez is going to win that fight. The first time I thought Marquez pulled it out but those first three knockdowns in the first round really hurt him. It was a good fight and both guys are really tough fighters. Manny Pacquiao is just an explosive fighter. When he comes at you he just explodes with fire and power. He’s a guy to watch out for because he has fast hands, fast feet, and he can punch. He’s not scared to get hit either, so he will come right at you.
"When Pacquiao beat Barrera I was impressed. I thought he was going to beat Barrera, but I thought he would edge him out. I had no idea that he would dismantle Barrera like that. He basically had Barrera wanting to quit, at least from my eyes.
"Marquez is a great counter-puncher. He’s very impressive and dangerous. He’s also very sharp with his punches, the type of guy who you can’t afford to make mistakes against. He can punch and he can fight. And now we all know he can take a punch. He got up from three first round knockdowns and fought on with a broken nose. That’s a warrior right there. He’s tough, smart, a great counter-puncher, and overall a solid, solid champion.”
Marco Antonio Barrera’s thrilling victory of Erik Morales in their third meeting…
‘ Barrera really surprised me the way he came in. He came to fight. Morales fought Barrera’s fight. To me it looked like Morales was thinking that he was the bigger guy who had been at that weight class longer and that he would just run over Barrera. I think Morales probably took into account Barrera’s loss to Pacquiao and figured it would be an easy night.
"With those two it’s a very heated rivalry, just like a rivalry in football. Like the Oakland Raiders vs. Denver. Oakland could be 0-10 but they will play like they’re playing in the Super Bowl. That’s the way Barrera came in. He came in ready to go. I saw him at the weigh in and I have never seen him like that. He looked great and he really surprised me.’
Abandoning his boxing style and getting down in the trenches…
‘ I’ll sit there and fight with you. My manager gets mad when I do that. He says ‘Why do you do that? You don’t even have to do that, you’re winning the fight so easily!’. I just tell him that sometimes I get bored and I need to make things exciting. I feel very comfortable on the inside. For my height I can fight very well on the inside. That’s the type of fighter I am. If I’m going to fight you on the inside and I am going to get the better of it. Even if you’re the smaller guy I’m still going to get you. When I’m on the inside I love throwing body shots and following up with the uppercut.”
The much discussed, on and off Felix ‘Tito’ Trinidad-Winky Wright meeting…
‘ Winky Wright is just a great boxer. He’s also pretty big for that weight. He’s a slick southpaw who knows how to step to the side and set you up with his jab. Trinidad, to me, is just a big puncher but he takes a lot of punches in return. He takes a lot more punches than people think. Against Mayorga he took a lot of shots. I went back and watched their fight again with the sound off and I saw a whole different fight. Mayorga landed a lot of punches in that fight. Trinidad shouldn’t have even gotten hit with 10 punches. If he does that against Winky Wright he’s going to take a beating. If he doesn’t catch Winky early he’s going to get punished.”
Next on tap…
‘ To me it doesn’t matter who I fight. Whoever they put me in with, fine. I’m on the road for that title and whoever’s in the way of me getting the title is the person I want to fight. I say ‘Bring it on’ to whoever.
The possibility of tackling the division’s best at the young age of 21…
‘ I feel that I’m ready. With all the new stuff I’m learning my confidence is high right now. I’m coming off the knockout over Cesar Figueroa and I had no problem in that fight. I took my time and set him up. Working with John Bray really upped my confidence and I have a lot of confidence in him to take me to the title. I feel that I’m ready for the big guns and my body also has a lot more to mature. Once I mature into a solid, solid professional its going to be scary.’
Final shout out to his fans…
‘ God Bless and keep watching because 2005 is going to be a big year for me.’
Thanks to the readers for stopping by. You can expect us to be keeping in touch with Robert on monthly basis as we will be analyzing the upcoming big fights in boxing and discussing other areas of his life and career as well. We also wish to thank Guerrero's publicist, Mario Serrano, for making this one on one possible.
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© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2005
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By Chris Robinson (January 5, 2005) 
