Watch: World Champion Boxer Robert Guerrero On His Career, Nickname And More [VIDEO EXCLUSIVE]

by Pablo MenaAugust 18, 2017, 3:58 pmDaily Digest, Videos, Z-Home Slider >

Robert Guerrero, a former world champion boxer, had quite a number of interesting bouts during his 16-year career.

Robert Guerrero Talks Career, Nickname, and His… by uSports
The 34-year-old Mexican-American fighter — who is a two-time IBF featherweight champion and a one-time junior lightweight champion — retired from boxing on July 17 after losing to Omar Figueroa in the main card of a Premier Boxing Champions event at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on July 15.

Figueroa dropped Guerrero (33-6-1, 18 KOs) five times in three rounds.

Guerrero told uSports in an exclusive interview that he comes from a family of boxers. “My brothers are fighters, my grandfather’s a fighter, it’s kind of like a family tradition,” he said. “Growing up in the gym, watching my brothers go, my dad didn’t let me fight until I was nine years old. It made me want to get into that ring and start boxing and as soon as I did, I fell in love with it.”

Guerrero went undefeated in his first 12 professional fights as a rising 126-pound prospect, including an eighth-round stoppage of former world champion Enrique Sanchez in June 2004.

The fighter then went on to explain that in order to best prepare for a championship-level bout, he typically watches a lot of film to “size up” opponents and see which of these boxers are in good or bad shape.

Guerrero says he does not have a signature move during fights, although he jokingly said “I like to head-butt a guy” before laughing and saying he didn’t really mean that. He also added that his left hand is his strong hand that allows him to deliver more powerful punches.

“I feel like my best punch as a fighter is probably my left hand,” he said. “It’s my power shot, and it’s just a matter of getting it in nice and smooth and landing it the right way.”

The 5-foot-9, 147-pound boxer is nicknamed “Ghost,” a moniker he earned because of his impressive speed in the ring.

“It means how quick I am… Well, how quick I used to be, I guess,” Guerrero said of his alias with a smile. “As a kid, I got that name when I was nine years old. First time I entered the ring and started sparring I was so excited, so pumped up getting in there. Like I said, my father was starting me out at boxing so I side-stepped and fired away.”

“The kid I was sparring with, he goes back to the corner and he says ‘He’s like a ghost! He’s hitting me and then he’s gone! He’s there and he’s not there.’ After that, people started calling me ‘The Ghost’ and it’s stuck ever since.”

LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 07: Robert Guerrero (red trunks) and Keith Thurman (white trunks) fight during a Premier Boxing Champions bout in the MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 7, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)