Exclusive Boxing Interview: Rocky Juarez
| Don’t Miss Rocky Juarez’s Rematch Against Marco Antonio Barrera This Saturday On A Golden Boy Promotion At The MGM Grand In Vegas on HBO World Championship Boxing! It was one of those familiar nights where the older champion had to dig down deep to fend off the determined younger challenger. |  Click for larger image |
In his first meeting with challenger Rocky Juarez, 25-2 (18), this past May, WBC Super Featherweight Champion Marco Antonio Barrera, 62-4 (42), had been effective in controlling the tempo of the fight from rounds one to six. However, after the first half of the fight concluded, the Barrera mystique seemed to wear off and Juarez began to counter the champ with punishing shots from both hands. This became the theme for the rest of the fight as Barrera began to buckle under the power of Juarez.
At bells end, Barrera’s face was swollen and bloodied and the fight was announced a draw. Then some twenty minutes later, the fight was awarded to Barrera due to a mathematical error on the part of the ringside judges. This was a fight which should have been a standout performance for Juarez due to his efforts in forcing a stalemate with the Mexican legend. Instead, we got a fight surrounded in controversy and in the end, Juarez goes home with a undeserved loss. “I think that everybody at the fight and everybody who watched it on the TV felt the fight was a draw,” Juarez says. “I felt I won the fight but I accepted the draw, when they said I lost many people became angry.”
After the actual fight, there was much debate as to whether Barrera’s team would even grant Juarez a rematch but Juarez quickly eliminated all of those rumors. “Barrera’s old school,” he laughed. “He’s a true champ and he wanted a rematch. Barrera wasn’t looking for an easier name. I believe what happened was that he thinks he lost and he went back to his hometown and his fans were probably saying the same thing and to me, that is worse than a loss.”
Barrera was gracious enough after the first fight by granting the Juarez camp a rematch, but don’t think Rocky is content with that. The first encounter with Barrera still leaves a bitter taste in his mouth and this time, the Houston, Texas native is certain not to make the same mistakes twice. “I’m getting physically stronger in camp everyday,” Juarez admitted. “Now I will have the energy to stay on top of him. I am just going to get stronger as the fight goes on.” Juarez also revealed that he will let his hands go a bit more this time in the rematch. “I’m still going to be cautious, ” Juarez advised. “But this time I’m going to take more risks. In the first fight I was too cautious.”
And to think that the classic first encounter and its upcoming sequel almost never happened. It was only little over a year ago when Rocky Juarez was arguably the best prospect in boxing. Juarez had some solid wins on his resume, including a victory over Zahir Raheem. Then came Juarez’s fight with Humberto Soto. Juarez ended up losing a close decision and his touted aura was gone. The suits on the big networks seemed no longer interested in Rocky Juarez.
Although it now appears that Juarez has overcome his disappointing defeat against Soto, the memory of the fight is still embedded in the back of his mind. “I had a mental letdown in the Soto fight,” Juarez conceded. “I’m not trying to make any excuses, Soto was just the better fighter that night. He is a threat in any division and I would like a rematch in the future but right now I’m more concerned on what I got in front of me – and that is Marco Antonio Barrera.”
As for the “Baby Face Assassin”, his path to fighting Juarez was a lot different. Barrera was originally set to take on Jesus Chavez on HBO’s World Championship Boxing. But due to a injury suffered in training camp, Chavez was forced to pull out of the fight. Barrera was now looking for an opponent and Juarez jumped at the opportunity to once again showcase his talents on a big time network.
The former United States Olympian even offered his own prediction on what will happen come fight night this Saturday in the rematch, “If I catch him (Barrera) in the first or second round it could be an early night; I still have good one punch power,” Juarez explained. “Even though I’m getting older, I am also getting wiser and sitting on my punches.”
Juarez ended the interview by saying he was destined to be a world champ someday. And on this September 16, on Mexican Independence Day, Rocky Juarez gets another chance to fulfill his destiny.