By Tom Donelson
Rocky Juarez is a good fighter, maybe even a very good fighter. The problem that Juarez had last Saturday night was that he collided with an even greater fighter in Marco Antonio Barrera. Barrera gave the younger Juarez a boxing lesson to be sure, and he demonstrated the difference between being good and being great.
Juarez knew going into the fight that he needed to press the action and change his economical style of fighting. He had to force Barrera to fight and go toe-to-toe. He failed to do so for the simple fact that Barrera's game plan worked to perfection. Barrera wanted to avoid a toe-to-toe confrontation with the younger Texan native and his game plan was to jab Juarez to death.
Taking advantage of his two and half inches of reach, Barrera jabbed and jabbed, keeping Juarez at the end of his punches. Juarez never could get a rhythm going and often he found himself throwing one punch at a time. For Juarez, there were no flowing deadly combinations that nearly ended Barrera's reign the last time around. In their first bout, it was Barrera whose face became swollen and puffed up. During this fight, Rocky's right eye nearly swelled shut as the result of Barrera's numerous jabs connecting upon his face.
Experience triumphed over youth. As a fighter, Barrera showed that he could go to Plan B and used his superior boxing skills to avoid trading punches. Juarez did not show the same ability to adjust. He fought exactly as he did the first time, only this time Barrera was better prepared. Barrera never gave Juarez a chance to get off or trap him. When a good fighter faces a great fighter, more often than not; the great fighter will prevail and not just on skills alone.
Juarez had the tools to defeat Barrera, but Barrera had the smarts to avoid losing. Great fighters find a way to win against all styles and Barrera showed why he is one of this generation great fighters.
If Barrera showed the benefit of experience, Israel Vazquez showed the grit of a champion. Jhonny Gonzalez moved up to challenge Vazquez for his 122-pound championship belt. Gonzalez, one of the better Bantamweights, is a tall, rangy boxer-puncher and he used his boxing skills to its utmost in the early rounds. Snapping a stiff left jab, he had Vazquez bewildered and unable to move inside. But that was not all.
Gonzalez is not just a boxer, but a boxer with pop and Vazquez felt that power first in the fourth round and later in the sixth. In the fourth, Gonzalez nailed Vazquez with a left hook off his jab that sent the champion to the canvas. In the sixth, Vazquez fell victim to another Gonzalez left hook for a second knockdown.
Gonzalez feeling comfortable decided to press the action, but he ran right into a Vazquez right hand that sent him sprawling to the canvas in round seven. From this point, Vazquez's strength started to take hold and in the tenth round, Vazquez ended affairs with another knockdown that cause TKO as Gonzalez's corner threw in the towel. Before the end came, Gonzalez was ahead comfortably on all of the judges' cards.
Vazquez needed a knock out and was able to turn the tide with his power, thus turning a certain defeat into victory.
Joan Guzman showed his own version of mastery as his sharp punches and defensive skills over came the power of Jorge Barrios. The pattern was set in the early rounds as Barrios attacked, but much of attack was blunted by Guzman's ability to slip punches and counterpunch. Barrios hoped to turn the tide with consistent body shots, but Guzman's defensive mastery negated the stronger Barrios attack. The judges scored the bout a split decision, but Guzman got the nod on two of the three judges scorecard.
Golden Boy Promotions produced a winning card with three evenly matched and tough fights. This is what a PPV event should be; fights that have meaning. All of these fights had their own drama. In the opening championship bout, Joan Guzman took on a fighter who showed up overweight, but this did not stop Guzman from taking the title the right way - in the ring.
As for Vazquez, he stared defeat in the face and used his power to snatch victory from its jaws. And finally, Marco Antonio Barrera showed that he is still a great fighter. Barrera accepted the challenge of fighting a younger and stronger fighter, but used his smarts to outfox his challenger to take the victory. This fight may have lacked the drama of the other fights, but Barrera showed that a boxer could use more than brawn to win. This time he used his brain.