By Ryan Songalia
With the days counting down towards the 11th defense of Chris John's WBA featherweight championship, news stories circulated that the incumbent titlist had contracted a virus that not only compromised his health, but also jeopardized his ability to make the featherweight limit of 126 pounds.
Ronnie Shields, the trainer of John's challenger Rocky Juarez, invests no stock in such stories.
"I don't fall for stuff like that," Shields said, as he readies himself for not one but two world title fights on Saturday's HBO telecast from the Toyota Center in Houston, TX. "We were at the press conference today and he didn't say anything about that. There is no excuses, if he's sick then he shouldn't fight. If he can't make his weight, then we'll still fight and if Rocky wins, he wins the title. We're not worried about Chris John being sick or injured. Our main concern is that Rocky stays focused on what he's doing and he executes the game plan that we've been working on for the last month."
Quietly in his native Indonesia, Chris John has accumulated a record of 42-0-1 (22 KO), besting the likes of Juan Manuel Marquez and Derrick Gainer. Though he has fought in three countries, he has yet to compete in America. Not only is he coming to America to defend against Juarez, 28-4 (20 KO), he is doing so in his opponent's hometown.
"That takes a lot of confidence. He's really a true world champion. The belt says 'world champion' not 'United States champion' or 'Indonesian champion.'"
Shields says he is very familiar with John, having studied his fight with Marquez to prepare Juarez with the Mexico City native in November of 2007. "Chris John is a very good fighter, he can box, he can bang right there with you, he can punch. He's 29 years old and he's undefeated. He's champion of the world, you don't become champion of the world by not fighting anybody. I have a lot of respect for him."
Juarez's four previous attempts to win a world title also represent his four career defeats. His last two fights have taken place at super-featherweight, a loss to Marquez and an 11th round TKO of Jorge Barrios. Now he drops down in weight for what most people believe to be his last run at a world title. Even Shields recognizes the crossroads that Juarez is at.
"We told Rocky at the beginning when we signed this fight that this more than likely will be his last opportunity for a title shot. He said, 'I want the toughest guy but I want to do it at home.' Chris John, being the champion he is, came to defend his title. Rocky realizes that this is probably his last big fight if he doesn't win.
"I expect it to be a tough, hard fight. I know what Chris John can do but I also know what Rocky Juarez can do."
Juan Diaz Shakes Sniffles Before Marquez Clash
John wasn't the only one in Houston who was rumored to be under the weather. Reports had circulated that Juan Diaz, who will be challenging Ring Magazine's lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez in the main event, had come down with a cold. Shields confirms those reports but assures that it's nothing "out of the ordinary."
"Juan Diaz always catches a cold before he fights. He reminds me of myself a lot. Every time I fought, I got a cold. No excuses, if Juan is too sick to fight, he wouldn't fight. It's as simple as that. Juan Diaz has had a little cold, that's all it is. It hasn't affected him in any shape or form. Every fight I've worked with him, he's had a cold. If he had a severe cold, he wouldn't be fighting. It's a common thing for him."
Shields is confident that Diaz, 34-1 (17 KO), will rise to his biggest challenge to date in Marquez, 49-4 (36 KO). Diaz has in his favor the age (Diaz is 25, Marquez is 35) and the size (Marquez etched his reputation as a featherweight, Diaz has fought as high as 144 pounds). Shields doesn't feel the size will be that telling, however.
"As far as the weight is concerned, five pounds is not a whole lot. Even when Juan Manuel Marquez was a 130 pounder, by the time he got in the ring, he was 140-145 pounds anyways. It's not like he's not used to fighting that size. I don't think the weight advantage will be for either guy. Of course Diaz is the natural lightweight."
Shields says that while Marquez is a good fighter, he is not a "legendary" fighter, as this writer describes him.
"For people to say that he's legendary, why because he fought Barrera and Pacquiao twice? I can name a bunch of good fighters that Diaz beat that Marquez couldn't beat. This guy was a three-time lightweight champion, he had three belts at one time. Juan is not just a younger fighter, he also has a lot of experience. Marquez is going in with a guy who fought good guys, also.
"You have to fend for yourself in the ring, which is where it matters. Right now, we're not dealing with the Marquez that fought Pacquiao or Barrera, we're dealing with the Juan Manuel Marquez of today."
Shields Pushing For Cotto-Cintron in June
A few weeks have passed since Kermit Cintron's draw with WBC interim light middleweight titlist Sergio Martinez. It's still unclear what to make of the fight that featured a three minute break after Cintron was knocked down and assumed to have been counted out in the seventh round, as well as many sustained lulls in action that were ultimately hard to score.
In disagreement with his fighter Cintron, who angrily protested the decision in the dressing room following the fight in Sunrise, FL, Shields says he thinks the verdict was just.
"I don't think Kermit won the fight. I thought it was what it was, that it was a draw. Going into the 12th round, I told him that if he won the round he'd win the fight. The fight was a very boring fight, which is why you heard boos throughout the arena. Neither guy really did anything but this guy was supposed to annihilate Cintron. They had high-horsed this guy as a guy that nobody was going to touch."
Shields believes that welterweight is where he belongs, the division where the 30-2-1 (27 KO) puncher from Reading, PA once held the IBF welterweight title. Shields feels that Cintron, of Puerto Rican heritage, is best suited for the June 13 date in New York City against Miguel Cotto, who hails from Caguas, Puerto Rico. The fight is the day before the Puerto Rican Parade in New York City, which traditionally coincides with a big Madison Square Garden fight featuring Puerto Rican fighters. The other front-runner is current IBF titlist Joshua Clottey.
"We are moving back down to welterweight and we want the guy that people say is the best fighter in that division, Miguel Cotto. From a marketing standpoint, I don't think Clottey and Cotto will do well [financially]. I think Cotto and Cintron make more sense. If you're talking about the day before the Puerto Rican parade, what makes better sense, Clottey versus Cotto or Cintron versus Cotto? It doesn't take a genius to figure out that more people would rather see Cotto versus Cintron."
Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at songaliaboxing@aol.com.
