Looking at Robert Guerrero, it’s easy to take him lightly. He doesn’t look like someone that would make you fearful in an alley. He doesn’t have that knockout punch or flashy style that typically evokes a strong fan base or widespread wonder. He just keeps winning. After titles in 4 weight class, including a record that shows only one loss, since avenged, it’s time to start trying to make sense of it all.
After he defeated Andre Berto, I started thinking about it and emerged with a feeling that Guerrero’s strength is his depth–as a fighter and as a person. All he has been through in and out of the ring has galvanized him. They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and Guerrero’s career really exemplifies that.
Opponents
In today’s age of building fighters, many boxers get to the top without the necessary chops to sustain success. I saw Guerrero on his way up, at Pechanga Casino while he was still in his teens. I liked what I saw and kept dibs. In 2004, he took on Cesar Figueroa. I was expecting a close fight. Figueroa had just knocked out the star of the nearby Escondido gym–a guy named Jorge Martinez. Guerrero beat Figueroa in 4 rounds. There are a lot of guys like that on Guerrero’s record.
Two wins later, Guerrero suffered his only loss–to a guy named Gamaliel Diaz. That name might not mean much to some, but Diaz is a helluva fighter. A long-neglected force, Diaz is just one of those fighters who never caught a break. Guerrero lost a close split decision. All these years later, Diaz is a world champion at 130 pounds. Guerrero’s 2005 rematch knockout over Diaz was a thing of beauty–a sterling demonstration of his elite skills.
The win over Diaz was supposed to propel him, but he hit a rough patch. He fought the double-tough Orlando Salido, leaving the ring a decision loser until it was found Salido had used steroids. He took to the road and knocked out the 35-1 Spend Abazi in Denmark for the vacant IBF Featherweight Title. Then he stopped normally-tough Martin Honorio in the first round. Two more knockouts led to a televised bout with unsung Daud Yordan. The Indonesian brawler was giving Guerrero fits, when a head-butt led to the bout being stopped in the second round.
He crushed tough Efren Hinojosa, then won a 130-pound belt against Malcolm Klassen–a tough South African. He beat slippery vet Joel Casamayor, decisioned capable Vicente Escobedo, then defeated the dogged Michael Katsidis for a couple of interim belts at 135. Then came the fight with Selcuk Aydin–a punishing and unbeaten fighter of little name-value whom Guerrero beat easily.
After further review, it’s a heck of a resume. The names of the best guys he’s fought reveals a lot. Some of these guys are a lot better than people realize. The names Diaz, Klassen, Casamayor, Escobedo, Katsidis, and Aydin might not inspire awe. However, they were all tough winning fighters where a guy can learn by fighting them. And those wins were not easy, allowing Guerrero to emerge battle-tempered from his ring experiences.
It made it so when it was time to face a big name, like an Andre Berto, he was ready. Despite actually being a betting underdog, he ran roughshod over Berto. It showed that people overlooked how he came up. There is something old-school about Guerrero’s ring upbringing–a throwback to a time where fighters fought all styles and took on all comers to prove and improve themselves. Guerrero’s rise to the top shows there is still a place for moving a fighter thoughtfully, with a greater purpose in mind than just money and immediate success.
Styles
Against Berto, it was thought Guerrero would move around and use his skills. Instead, he buried his head on Berto’s chest and hammered away in the trenches. He looked like Carmen Basilio all of a sudden. Actually, it was Berto who looked like Basilio after the Robinson rematch by night’s end. It worked almost to perfection. Berto was obviously thrown and had few answers, as he was being smothered by the swarming “Ghost.” And when he did land, Guerrero was more than up to the task.
At the lower-weights, Guerrero was able to use his length to sharp-shoot from the outside. It shows a lot of versatility that without the size advantages, he’s equipped to do battle on the inside with fighters that are supposed to be stronger than him. Against Aydin, he held his ground, but used movement to maintain a clear edge. When facing Berto, he was in his face for 12 rounds. Only the best can use such divergent styles to achieve victory. Other than maybe Andre Ward, it’s hard to think of a fighter as capable as Guerrero at taking any number of different routes to a win.
Life
The things Guerrero and his family have gone through are heavy-duty. His wife was facing a dire situation, needing a bone marrow transplant. Disaster was thankfully averted, much to everyone’s relief. Now she’s doing well.
You don’t think about these things at the time because you’re just trying to survive the troubles that life can bring, but getting through it is a real character-builder. Not a lot of guys in their 20’s know what it’s like to go through stuff like this. Now that everything is fine, you start to look at the right side of the equal-sign. What that shows is a man of character, a guy who’s been through some real-life stuff.
Nothing really came easy for Guerrero inside or outside the ring. It sucks while it’s happening, but it can actually be rewarding once you get through it and start sailing smoother seas. It’s like the difference in a kid who was once poor and became rich versus a kid who was just rich his whole life. You appreciate things more and are hungrier to keep things going well because you remember how things were when life was a struggle.
Father
I like when a guy stays with his pops. Nowadays, you’re supposed to be with a big-name trainer after a certain point. Guerrero saw through the BS. You hear what makes a good trainer nowadays and it can be really sickening. As if a boxer will be a loser if he doesn’t work with any of the 5-10 guys the media tells us are good trainers.
The proof is in the pudding as far as Ruben Guerrero is concerned. His son’s success speaks for itself. Not that he is looking for extra attention. He’d just as soon see his son get all the accolades. It’s just nice to see that Robert was immune to all the talk about how top boxers need big-name trainers or how father-son relationships don’t work in boxing.
Fathers who work as trainers for their sons are always considered suspect, especially if they didn’t previously hold a high-profile position in boxing. It’s thought that they lucked out by having a son who is a great fighter. Sometimes, it’s true. But just like he brought the best out of Robert, maybe Robert brought the best out of him. Having a smart guy like Ruben dedicating all his physical and mental energy to his son is a good thing on paper and they’ve managed to make it work. A lot of trainers are unheard-of until they find one fighter who helps shoot them into the spotlight. So what’s the difference? What does it matter if that one fighter happens to be a guy’s son?
Conclusion
When trying to judge how good a fighter is, you have to look beyond merely what you see in the ring in a given fight. It’s easy for some to watch Guerrero fight and dismiss him as a top fighter. He doesn’t have the dynamic style of Manny Pacquiao, the obvious boxing skills of Floyd Mayweather, the flash of Sergio Martinez, or the ability to suddenly end big fights like Nonito Donaire. What he has lies underneath.
There is still work to be done. For purists, it can be a little painful hearing about how Guerrero is a “6-time world champion” and a “4-division champ.” He won an IBF belt at featherweight against a champion whose name fails to evoke much awe–Eric Aiken. Then he won the same vacant belt over Spend Abazi. At 130, he beat a good fighter in Klassen. But winning two interim belts over Katsidis at 135, who had lost his last fight by KO is a bit suspect and his WBC Welterweight title is still only an “interim” belt. That’s besides the point, though. Sanctioning body madness aside, he still has a lot of quality behind his 31-1-1 mark.
You see a guy like Guerrero who was once a 122-pounder rise two weight classes and beat two very good welterweights and it ‘s hard to find an explanation for it. Life has conditioned Guerrero to have a will to win. He has been forced to fight for every inch of progress he has made, in and out of the ring. There is nothing that can happen in a fight that he didn’t experience because he wasn’t coddled on his way up. Life has taught him the power of being able to adjust. Now, he’s reaping the rewards of all his struggles.
As one gets older, the bottom line begins speaking loudest. In boxing, the bottom line is winning. It is in that area where Guerrero excels. Having an innate sense of winning is a trait that might not be very visible to onlookers, but is probably more important than any of the flashy skills that fans typically favor. That means the next time you are able to bet on Robert Guerrero as an underdog, you can be sure that win or lose–you’re going to be getting good value on your dollar.
Too bad I didn’t realize that until after the Berto fight.
