By Lem Satterfield
The most important fight in the young career of Jorge Linares (28-1, 18 KOs) takes place on July 31 as part of the pay-per-view undercard to Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz. Linares, 24, is trying to rebuild his career since last October's first round knockout loss to Juan Carlos Salgado.
The upcoming opponent is the very experienced Rocky Juarez (28-6-1, 20 KOs). For Juarez, a loss to Linares could be the end of the line. A tough fight is expected. Linares will take the fight to Juarez, using his speed and power to control the veteran.
"Speed and punching power are my advantages against Juarez, who is a very good, very experienced fighter," said Linares. "I will not give any chance to Juarez. My training is going very well in Tokyo, and I believe that I can show you a different Jorge Linares in my next fight against Rocky Juarez in Las Vegas."
Linares believes he can rebuild his career in the same way as Amir Khan. The WBA junior welterweight champion suffered the same kind of loss as Linares, when Breidis Prescott knocked him out in the first round of their September 2008 bout. Since then, Khan has been on a big winning streak and won a major title.
"Through fighter like Amir Khan, I can learn a lot, using his last few successful fights as a great example of how I can overcome any mental obstacles and become great champion, again," said Linares.
"I know the reason why I lost my title by KO in first round. I was careless in my fight against Salgado. That is why I got knocked out in first round. Everything is a good experience for me. From all of these experiences, I was able to overcome the mental obstacles against my last opponent, and I'm looking to do the same thing aganst Rocky Juarez."
Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.
