johnmichael-bricAnother Tough Road for Rocky Juarez
October 27th 2007 23:14
Juarez is a boxer with heavy power in his punches especially his reputable left hook and KOd 19 opponents in 27 wins. His skill set is also decent, providing a stiff challenge to any boxers who faces him. He is on his road to redemption after his boring fight against Jose Andres Hernandez and his losing effort versus former WBC Champion, Marco Antonio Barrera. Boxing fans' opinions on him seems low these days because of his performance in his last fight against Hernandez. He still managed to win by a comfortable unanimous decision but he did not look for a KO in the match. He will now have a tougher time dealing with the current WBC champion. Marquez is a very technical boxer reputed for his excellent counter punching ability. He fought Pacquiao to a draw three years ago and also beat Marco Antonio Barrera earlier this year. This is the type of fighter Juarez seems to have a hard time with. He was outboxed and outworked by Zahir Raheem but he was given a questionable decision by the judges. He was also a beaten to the punch by Barrera in their rematch when he just could not land a meaningful punch and got tagged with jabs and straights for 12 rounds.
To Juarez's credit, he did give Barrera a hard time in their first match. He repeatedly nailed the former champion with straight rights and constantly moved forward. He was successful at pressuring Barrera and never giving him space to throw punches, perhaps taking a page from Manny Pacquiao. He was still hit by some counter shots making the fight hard to score. It was an exciting fight since Barrera chose to trade punches with him and did not run away. The judges still awarded Marco Antonio Barrera the win but Rocky Juarez should have won in my opinion.
If he employs the same strategy with some improvements on his defense, he could be a tough opponent for Marquez. Marquez's face was bloodied many times when his opponents are pressuring him. He still managed to win by TKO against journeymen Terdsak Jandaeng of Thailand and Jimrex Jaca of the Philippines but he his face looked nasty after the fight. Just like Barrera, Marquez got tagged with many lead straight punches when he fought these two fighters but fortunately they are not heavy handed like Juarez. In my opinion, hitting Marquez is still difficutl because he will counter you hard. It is his best weapon and it will give anyone hell when he catches you off balance. No doubt Marquez will choose to box with Juarez in this fight. If Juarez fails to utilize his tactics in their bout, he will definitely be on the losing end. Juarez should also improve his footwork and speed since he is not that fast and agile for a guy his size. He must keep his reflexes up since the counter shots of Marquez comes out of nowhere.
Juarez has a puncher's chance in my opinion. He can drop Marquez if he hits hims flush just like what Pacquiao and Barrera did. But making it happen would be like an uphill battle for him since he will probably get hit with a lot counters by Marquez. It also comes down to his mindset. If he is hungry for a belt around his waist, he will have a better time taking it away from Juan Manuel Marquez and be the new champion. But if he looks like the frustrated fighter who fought Barrera the 2nd time, he will most probably lose and will have to build his way up again for another title contention.
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