By Jake Donovan
Three months after taking Nonito Donaire to hell and back, Cesar Juarez was brought crashing back down to earth. The super bantamweight hopeful suffered a stunning split decision loss to Giovanni Delgado in their 10-round clash Saturday evening in Mexico City, Mexico.
Juarez managed a 95-94 nod on one card, but was overruled by scores of 96-93 and 95-94 in favor of Delgado.
The concept behind Saturday's fight was proving that Juarez belonged among super bantamweight contention following his brave showing versus Donaire. A win in this fight was rumored to have lined up a future showdown with unbeaten Albert Pagara, with the winner likely to race to the front of the line for a title shot.
It wasn't to be on this night for the local favorite, who was sound offensively but struggled to keep a determined Delgado at bay. The fight was back-and-forth for much of the night, but with Delgado often landing first and at a greater rate.
Juarez' punches drew the greater reaction whenever he landed, but his best moments came in spurts whereas Delgado's mode of attack was consistent over the course of the night.
Delgado had dropped three of his last four starts, including back-to-back losses to Joseph "Jo Jo" Diaz and Diego de la Hoya in his lone two fights of 2015 following a 17-month absence. Just three days shy of his 25th birthday, he picks up by far the biggest win of his journeyman career in improving to 16-4 (9KOs).
Juarez suffers his second consecutive loss, this one a far more bitter pill to swallow as he falls to 17-5 (13KOs).
The bout aired on TV Azteca in Mexico and beIN Sport Español in the United States, serving as the chief support to Antonio Margarito's ring return versus Jorge Paez Jr. following a four-year absence.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
