The CrossFit nation is introducing its latest athlete, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (31-2-1, 18 KOs), who is returning to the ring on June 21at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. against Yoshihiro Kamegai (24-1-1, 21 KOs).
Guerrero began picking apart his defeat to Floyd Mayweather.
“There’s more stuff I could have done in the gym,” he says.
The 31-year-old had known Dave Castro, CrossFit Inc.’s Director of the CrossFit Games/Director of Training, since turning professional 13 years earlier, and Castro had been trying to get the fighter to try CrossFit. Skeptical, Guerrero was finally agreeable. At the start of 2014, he began training with Brian Chontosh, a Level 1 Seminar Staff member and a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer who had been awarded the Navy Cross for heroic actions during the 2003 Iraq invasion.
“The warrior aspect of him and the fact that he was a leader of men and he was a leader of men in combat, for me, that made sense to pair him with Guerrero,” Castro explains.
What Chontosh saw in Guerrero was surprising.
“My initial assessment of Rob and his movement was like, ‘There’s no fucking way … that this guy is a six-time world champion. There’s no way,'” he recalls.
Guerrero suffered from a weak core, had no awareness of when his body was in flexion or extension, and performed “atrocious” squats.
“I’m surprised that he’s not, like, walking around with a cane,” Chontosh says.
Chontosh knew he had a lot of work to do, but in a matter of four months—and with some inspiration from Chris Spealler—Guerrero upped his game and became a new athlete.
“He’s fast. He’s strong. He has the awareness and the wherewithal of his body—the kinesthetic awareness—to actually apply the strength where he wants to with the speed that he has. He’s dangerous. He’s deadly right now,” Chontosh says.
CrossFit is a strength and conditioning program aiming to improve, among other things, cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance and accuracy. Guerrero has added CrossFit to his workouts, making him the first official CrossFit boxer.
The outcome will be a more powerful, stronger and explosive Robert Guerrero. With CrossFit’s popularity spreading rapidly around the world, Guerrero can be the first CrossFitter to win a world championship and make himself a household name in the CrossFit community.
CrossFit Director of Training Dave Castro, who introduced Guerrero to the popular exercise regimen, believes “The Ghost” will perform at an optimum level with his new training techniques.
“Robert Guerrero is already an elite athlete and we added our unique CrossFit training to his workouts with the goal to make him as fit as possible,” said Castro. “One of our top trainers, Brian ‘Tosh’ Chontosh, has been working with Robert for the last few months and he’s seeing incredible results with his speed, strength and stamina. The CrossFit nation is ready to embrace our new athlete, Robert Guerrero, and unite with the boxing community, while showcasing the machine that is ‘The Ghost’.”
“I’m very happy to have been introduced to CrossFit training, the workouts have been unbelievable,” Guerrero said. “I’m still doing my usual boxing training with my father [Ruben Guerrero], but we added CrossFit into the routine. My training is intense, and I can definitely see the difference. My body feels incredible and I sense my stamina is at an all time high. Although I’ve been cooped up for over a year, I’ve been working out with my dad and the CrossFit community. I can’t wait to get into the ring and let my hands go.”
