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Fightnews was able to catch up to featherweight contender and 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist Rocky Juarez (25-2) as he gets ready for his rematch against legend Marco Antonio Barrera (62-4) in a big PPV clash on Saturday at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Rocky talks about his feelings from the first fight and what he has to do differently in the rematch to walk away the title.
What are your feelings about the first fight you had with Barrera?
Well, the last fight I think I won. I think I did enough in the fight to pull out a victory. I think by receiving a draw in De La Hoya’s backyard was pretty good. Every fight fan knows that to receive a draw in someone else’s backyard is almost like a win. Again I thought I had won the fight, but now that I look back at it and have had time to reflect on it, I’m glad that I’m getting a second chance at the title and I’m going to make the most of the opportunity .
Do you think there was pressure on Barrera to have a second fight with you with all the controversy surrounding the first fight?
First Barrera is a true champion, people whatever they have to say have to realize what he is doing by coming back into the ring with a fighter that many people felt won the (first) fight. A lot of fighters wouldn’t have done that. So he’s is going back into the fire to prove not only to himself but to his fans that he won the fight. So it’s my job not to allow that to happen and to prove to everybody that I won the first fight. People ask me sometimes, why do you have to say something good about him, but I think I have to because he is giving me a second chance in trying to accomplish one of my dreams.
The last fight had back and forth action. What do you feel that you have to do differently in the second fight that was not done in the first fight?
I think that I have to start off faster in this fight, I have to get the early rounds in and not give up the first couple of rounds like I did in the first fight. I’m not going to leave anything behind in this second fight, I gave myself a B+ in the last fight and I know that I can give more the second time around.
So are you saying that there’s more to Rocky then what we saw the last time?
People saw a good Rocky Juarez in the first fight, but there is a better side of me that didn’t come out in the last fight that I plan to have come out this one. It was never a point in the fight that he hurt me or I felt like I was going to get knocked out. I left something behind and once I watched the fight on video I was upset with myself that I had so much energy left after the fight and that I didn’t leave it all in the ring that night.
Everybody knows you’re a notorious slow starter. How are you going to overcome this in the second fight?
I’m going to have to be the aggressor and use my jabs more than I have done in the past. And if Barrera sits and stays still, that’s where I’m going to capitalize on him and he’s going to be the one who is in trouble. Everybody knows me as a slow starter, even back to my amateur days, but as the fight grew on, that’s when I did the most damage, because that’s where my stamina and power came into the fight. I’ve shown in my professional career that I can catch guys early and I can catch guys late in the fight, as well. So if I catch Barrera early in the fight, it can be a long night for him.
Barrera has just made public that he plans to retire in the year 2007 with maybe three more fights. What is your reaction to this?
That’s Barrera's decision. What he does with his career is what he wants to do. He’s going to the Hall of Fame of boxing anyway it goes.
You won the silver medal in the 2000 Olympics in Sidney Australia. Do you feel that now is your time to make you mark in the pro boxing world?
Yes, I feel that it’s my time now, and I feel that in this second fight with Barrera it’s my goal to be a world champion. I’m blessed to get a second chance at becoming a world champion and I plan to make the most out of this opportunity and bring the belt home to Houston.
Do you have any predictions for this fight?
We have trained hard for this fight, we’ve worked hard, I’m in the best shape of my life. I’ve felt that we have trained the best that we could have for this fight and like I said before, I think that if we catch him early, it could be a long night for Barrera.
Thanks again Rocky, and we wish you the best of luck.
Thanks you very much.
IM VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS FIGHT?! ;D :D
