By Rick Reeno

Despite the recent information given by trainer Ronnie Shields to BoxingScene reporter Michael Doss, a potential bout between WBA featherweight champion Chris John and challenger Rocky Juarez is not going to happen on the Joel Casamayor-Juan Manuel Marquez pay-per-view on September 13 in Las Vegas.

When MaxBoxing/BoxingScene.com contacted Sampson Lewkowicz [exclusive worldwide representative of John] for a comment on the bout, we were surprised to learn that Juarez did not agree to the fight in time and John has already obligated himself to another fight.

An offer for a John-Juarez bout was presented to Lewkowicz two-weeks ago. John and his manager, Craig Christian of Australia, were very interested in the bout. According to Lewkowicz, Juarez took his time in making a decision and lost the title opportunity as a result.

John will return on July 26 in Jakarta, Indonesia against Jackson Asiku. The WBA has already approved the fight. Following the fight with Asiku, an agreement is already in place with Akihiko Honda of Teiken Promotions for John to face his WBA mandatory, Hiroyuki Enoki, on the first week on October in Japan.

"I'm very close with Golden Boy Promotions. Me and his manager, Craig Christian, would have loved to bring the best 126-pounder in the world to America. A fighter who beat Juan Manuel Marquez, Gainer and Oscar Leon in his prime. We were presented with an offer two-weeks ago, but I can't wait for any prima-donna to take his time by watching tapes and then making a decision. I had a conversation with Richard Schaefer [Golden Boy CEO] and had to apologize to him. We can't sit and wait for a guy to make up his mind, John has to move forward with his career."

"When somebody offers you a championship fight, you don't need to take your sweet time - you either say yes or no, and now it's too late. John will be fighting in Jakarta on July 26, then we have agreement with Mr. Honda to fight the WBA mandatory in October. And after that, if Juarez is still around, we can talk about a fight."