Sebastian Juarez is hoping to show a different dimension after his wild first round against Demarcus Layton, though he doesn’t want to give an encore. 

Juarez faces Ernesto Sanchez Rodriguez in an eight-round middleweight bout this Friday on DAZN from Domo Alcalde in Guadalajara, Mexico. 

In his prior outing versus Layton, Juarez, 10-0 (8 KOs), lost two points and was down once. He rallied back and dropped Layton three times, including a buzzer-beater knockout to cap off an unhinged round of action.

The one-round fight was mentioned amongst the best rounds of the year; some even wonder if it should rank among the best ever. 

Now, Juarez, a 20-year-old from Brownsville, Texas, training in Las Vegas with Bob Santos, hopes to put that round behind him. 

“I want to show more of my complete skill set,” Juarez told BoxingScene. “A lot of people label me as just a come-forward power puncher, but there’s much more to my game.” 

Juarez now aims to show more in his upcoming ring appearance. 

Rodriguez, 5-2-1 (4 KOs), is coming off a split decision loss in November to Synael Alejandro Torres. Before that, he had a draw with Jesus Anuar Vazquez in September. 

Juarez, whose older brother Omar Juarez is a current 140lbs fringe contender,  aims to build off his last fight while showing more of his skills than he did in his last. 

“I learned a lot about myself in that fight. More than anything, I showed exactly the kind of person and fighter I am, someone who doesn’t quit, no matter what,” Juarez said. “This fight is about proving that I’m a well-rounded fighter who can do it all in the ring.”

Juarez reflected on the good and bad he took away from a classic boxing round that happened a mere hour from his hometown.

“[I learned] that once I’m in there, I’m going forward until the final bell,” Juarez said. “On the flip side, I can’t be jumping in like that.“

Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.