They don’t call undefeated former World Boxing Organization junior featherweight champion and No. 1-ranked featherweight contender Joan “Sycuan Warrior” Guzman for nothing.

None other than “The Ring Magazine” labeled Guzman, who has a record of 24-0 with 17 knockouts, as the 122-pound division’s best puncher and his power as “terrifying.”

Now the media will have to laud Guzman with kudos as a featherweight.

Guzman voluntarily relinquished his WBO 122-pound championship during the summer of 2005 in order to move to the 126-pound featherweight division, a weight at which he is more comfortable.

He displayed that comfort level admirably August 26 in White Plains, New York, with a one-sided unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Terdsak Jandaeng to capture the WBO’s No. 1-ranking in the featherweight division and earn a shot at that organization’s 126-pound championship.

“Honestly, I believe I am the total package,” said Guzman, who is promoted by Sycuan Ringside Promotions. “I am a slick boxer with good movement, good defense, speed and excellent power.”

It is because of all those attributes that Guzman changed his nickname from “Little Tyson” to “Sycuan Warrior.”

“It was a fun nickname,” said Guzman of “Little Tyson.” “But I did not like it too much because it focused on my power. I really love to box.”

“I believe I am not only the best puncher, but the best boxer in the 122, 126 and 130-pound weight classes,” said Guzman.

Manager Jose Nunez explains moving up in weight is a big advantage for the colorful Guzman, saying, “Joan will be even more explosive and dangerous at 126 pounds.”

“I know what I am capable of,” said Guzman, who is not given to braggadocio but, instead, is humbly yet supremely confidant in his considerable skills and abilities. “I’ll beat them all. It’s time for America to discover Joan Guzman.”

And once America discovers Guzman, it’ll be enthralled by his rare combination of aggression, relentlessness and raw, unmitigated power. Add to that his quickness and ring savvy, and Guzman more than qualifies as a unique talent.

He’s no secret in his native Dominican Republic, however. The 29-year-old equals Major League outfielder Sammy Sosa for popularity among Dominican Republic athletes. During the most recent Pan American Games, Guzman joined Sosa, New York Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez and Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal in carrying the traditional flame into the stadium.

Guzman began boxing at age eight. He turned to boxing because it was an extension of what he did on the street everyday as a youth – fight. “I was a rough kid,” said Guzman. “I learned to fight because it was part of growing up. My family was poor. Our house had so many holes in the roof that when it rained I would get more wet staying inside than if I went outside.”

After an amazing amateur career in which he won 310 fights, including a gold medal at the Pan American Games, against but 10 losses, he turned pro in 1997.

On August 17, 2002, in Cardiff, Wales, Guzman won the vacant WBO junior featherweight championship, stopping Fabio Oliva in the third round. Guzman successfully defended his WBO 122-pound championship on cards co-promoted by Sycuan Ringside Promotions. First February 26, 2004, in San Diego when he stopped Agapito Sanchez in the seventh round and then April 22, 2005, in Hidalgo, Texas, when he took a unanimous decision over Fernando Beltran Jr.

Prior to that first defense, Guzman won two non-title fights, both by first-round knockout. On July 28, 2003, in the Dominican Republic he halted Jorge Eliecer Monsalvo and then one month later on August 29 in Panama, Guzman dispatched Alfaro Gonzalez.

Guzman’s outing November 6, 2004, gave credence to the fact he would move up and dominate the 126 and 130-pound weight divisions as well. In that 10-round, non-title bout in Glendale, Arizona, Guzman weighed 129 pounds and breezed to a one-sided unanimous decision over Joe Morales.

But Guzman struggled to make weight in his final fight as a 122-pounder, that against Beltran, and knew the time was right to move up to the featherweight division.