Boxing
Robert began his early days as a resident of Seattle then later moved to Lynnwood and graduated from Woodway High School. As a youth in Lynnwood, he was invited to a gym which is where he began boxing at age 12. At age 15, he won a national junior championship and at age 16, he won a world junior championship.
In 1980 at age 17, he qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team at 106 pounds but did not compete due to the U.S. boycott of these games. He qualified and did compete in the 1984 Olympic Games at 119 pounds but lost in the second round. Robert’s amateur record was 124-27 and some of his highlights as an amateur are:
· 1980 National AAU Champion – 106 pounds
· 1982 United States Amateur Championships 119 pounds – 2nd place
· 1984 National Golden Gloves bantamweight champion.
After the 1984 Olympics, he began his professional boxing career and won his first fifteen fights before losing a split decision to future champion Greg Richardson in 1986. The following year he lost to future champ Jose Sanabria. He retired from boxing in 1990 and, first, became a hair stylist. Currently he is a trainer in Seattle and runs a gym in the Roosevelt neighborhood.
In 2005, he was selected as one of the Everett Herald’s Top-50 Athletes from Snohomish County.