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Rocky Juarez -- Ready and Able
MON May 22, BUSTER PARIS - Emmanuel Steward wasn’t kidding when he said Rocky Juarez is the biggest puncher that Marco Antonio Barrera has ever faced.
I’m thinking what about Erik Morales? – what about Manny Pacquiao? I stopped thinking about them during round 4 when I realized that Barrera’s face was red, puffy and swelling – as if he’d already been through 15 rounds of being smashed in the face with several bags of sand.
Saturday – May 20th 2006 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA - Ring Magazine's #2 ranked Super Featherweight - and current WBC Super Featherweight Champion Marco Antonio Barrera (62 wins – 42 KO’s and 4 losses) accepted the challenge of Rocky Juarez (25 wins – 18 KO’s and 2 losses) for the WBC Super Featherweight Crown.
I didn’t think this was going to be a cakewalk for Marco Antonio, but I also didn’t think Rocky was ready for this level of competition – let’s be honest – we’re talking about the “Baby Faced Assassin” here – the brilliant warrior who was the first and only man to ever beat “Prince” Naseem Hamed. We’re talking about the gladiator who really made a name for himself going to war with “El Terrible” Erik Morels.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m a fan of Juarez. I officially jumped on the Rocky Juarez bandwagon on March 4th 2005 when he kept knocking down Juan Carlos Ramirez and won that bout via a 1st round TKO.
Truthfully - Rocky’s a nice kid and a good fighter with heavy hands, but c’mon – is he ready for this? – is he ready for Marco Antonio Barrera?
Who among us thought that come May 21st we’d all be thinking - “yes” – and I’ll even go so far as putting it out there that he could have actually won this fight if he was more confident and more willing to let it go earlier on.
Round 1 – Both came out jabbing and it would be Juarez that would fire off the first big hook. Barrera was impressively popping that jab and would let fly nice combinations – the first set being two fluid uppercuts and a solid right hand. Marco Antonio would easily win the round – throwing more and landing first.
In between rounds we see a cut on Rocky’s right eye. It wouldn’t be a factor, but at the time – first round – it made you think.
Round 2 I had as a draw. Rocky would be the more aggressive fighter – constantly applying intense pressure and landing big damaging shots - and Barrera would have the prettier punches, combinations and superior ring generalship – one thing of note was that at one point he was against the ropes and masterfully flips Juarez around. All in all though I thought no one outdid the other enough to win the round, both fighters deserved the 10 points.
Round 3 – Marco Antonio was superbly keeping a distance from Rocky that benefited him by keeping himself out of harms way, yet remain in a place where he could score points, but this would only be temporary as Juarez was purposeful in moving forward and coming inside. Both were landing enormous jabs – the kind that “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots” was created for - and then Rocky landed a beautiful left hook that almost drops Barrera - since the round was so close that hook cinched it for Juarez.
Round 4 was another round that I had as a draw. I thought that both fighter did equal damage to the other throughout the round, both were throwing and landing those big jabs and both did what makes them great fighters – Marco Antonio would throw fantastic combinations and Rocky would keep stalking him around the ring and landing bombs. They both did what they do best and even though Barrera looked far much worse for wear than Juarez I couldn’t give Juarez the round it was just to even.
Round 5 started with both fighters tossing out the double jab. Rocky would land his hook and Marco Antonio would just be pounding his jab into Rocky’s face. Rocky would continue to stalk Barrera and get in on Barrera’s body to pound away - and within seconds of those occasions Barrera would thump his fists on Juarez and jab Rocky silly. Marco Antonio would win the round as he simply landed more punches and landed them better.
In between rounds we see a cut on Barrera’s eye. This cut too would not be a factor, but it added to the mess of what was becoming Barrera’s face.
Round 6 would be 10 points for Marco Antonio and would be a great round. It kicked off with Juarez landing a big right hand and then Barrera using his piston like jab to score points and keep distance. Marco Antonio would then re-introduce his right hand following the jab and would keep landing it, he would outbox Juarez for the round, but Rocky was landing as well and it appeared that his punches were the ones doing more harm. For some reason when Juarez would get Barrera on the ropes he just wasn’t able to capitalize. Rocky would stay stuck to Marco Antonio and then all of the sudden they would both explode and violently trade blows – it was as if a fight broke out during the fight – it went up to that next level.
Barrera would be the one to throw more and win the exchanges, but he also was the one that headed to his corner looking like he took a savage beating.
Round 7 – both fighters shoulder to shoulder and slugging it out. Both crashing gloves to the others body. Marco Antonio loses his mouthpiece (would also lose it in the 8th) – it was a new one that wasn’t working out well, but at the time had us remembering Diego Corrales and asking questions like “broken jaw? -- then referee Raúl Caíz stops the action at a horrible time to get the mouthpiece back in place. Barrera goes back to moving and boxing – and both fighters would continue to throw hard and deep right hands. Marco Antonio would win the round – his punches landed more and landed better, but his nose was bloodied and again he looked like he was taking a beating.
Rounds 8, 9 and 10 would be all Rocky Juarez’s – and they would all be pretty similar. Somewhere in round 9 we were again mentioning names and remembering fights – like De La Hoya vs. Trinidad - because Barrera was on the run and Rocky was stalking him like some horror movie killer.
Basically Juarez would walk down Barrera, pound away at him and land ginormous right hands. They would wind up shoulder to shoulder and Juarez would win the exchanges. He would land the more punishing punches and would look like the fresher fighter. For Marco Antonio’s part – he would be moving away from Rocky, still trading and throwing big blows, but he appeared to be in survival mode and looked hurt, tired and pained – with blood sadly smeared on his face.
Round 11 – I had this one as a draw as well and it had elements of my favorite style of fights. Rocky started the round pouncing in on Marco Antonio and landed two huge jabs. It seemed like there was something wrong with Barrera’s face – his nose or his mouth - he just didn’t look right. Juarez landed some pretty big shots and Marco Antonio started to box again – he had Rocky on the ropes and Rocky gets him off with blasting blows, then both are shoulder to shoulder and head to head trading leather and brawling. Barrera sprung alive and kicked himself into that next gear and they beautifully explode and exchange until the bell.
At this point on my card I have it 106 to 106 – and I’m psyched for the 12th round – round 11 has to be one of the top 5 rounds of 2006.
Round 12 – Barrera throwing first and they both are trading again, then for some inexplicable reason the ref stops the fight for the middle of the ring to be cleaned up. The action continued and Rocky landed two huge right hands and Barrera keeps launching out the jackhammer jab – his face looking tired, swollen and tender. They both end the fight swinging.
In all my excitement I forgot to score the 12th round!
“Awwww Crap!”
HBO’s unofficial ringside scorer and one of the best in the business Harold Ledderman had the bout 116 to 112 for Marco Antonio Barrera – and as for the official judges – well – believe it or not there was some confusion – I know – shocking –
Judge Anek Hongtongkam had it 115 to 113 for Barrera, Judge Duane Ford 115 to 113 for Juarez – and originally ring announcer Michael Buffer read Judge Ken Morita 114 to 114 – making the bout a draw – BUT – later on when the scorecards were verified it turned out that Judge Ken Morita had it 115 to 114 for Barrera – so Marco Antonio Barrera won the fight via a split decision.
I’ve got to say – this was a great and fun fight – full of uncertainty, risk, drama and heart – lots of heart.
Before I wrap this up - as always, I’m left with a couple of questions –
First concerning Barrera -- is Marco Antonio on the Erik Morales path? – Morales lost to Zahir Raheem and then got knocked out by Pacquiao – and even though Marco Antonio won tonight (May 20 2006) -- was this fight Barrera’s Raheem? – you saw his face.
On the flip side to that question - where in the world does Barrera get that next gear from? – reminds me of that amp in Spinal Tap – “…it goes to Eleven…”
Concerning Juarez - who knew Rocky had fists made out of iron – wow! – he made Barrera’s face look like it just came out of the Playdough Fun Factory.
I remember digging into my popcorn and watching the ring walks and asking myself - is Rocky Juarez ready for Marco Antonio Barrera?
I didn’t think so – and now I really hope there’s a rematch – and I think it’s winnable for Rocky if he’s ready, willing and able.
Buster Paris can be reached at: bparis@talkingboxing.com - and always enjoys receiving your thoughts, comments and questions
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