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By Thomas Gerbasi - It was just the jolt Rocky Juarez needed. After six consecutive losses from 2009 to 2012, he had heard all the talk about him hanging up the gloves and moving on to the next phase of his life, but he was as stubborn in his thinking as he was in the ring. So with a fight against hard-hitting Antonio Escalante – who was on a four-fight knockout streak - he was going to find out once and for all whether he had anything left in the tank.
He did, stopping Escalante in the eighth round of their October 2012 bout in San Antonio. Juarez took a week and a half off to celebrate his first win since 2008 and then headed back to the gym, expecting to get a call for an even bigger fight. It didn’t come.
“One month after another I didn’t receive a call and I was waiting,” said Juarez. “It got discouraging, and at one point I just said the hell with it and I stopped training. But I have to be in the gym and I have to be in combat, whether it’s sparring or hitting the bag.”
Eventually, the phone would ring, but not with anything Juarez wanted, not at this point in a pro career that began in 2001.
“I feel like with my experience and what I’ve gone through, and the fights that I’ve been through, I can’t take any fights that don’t make sense,” he said. “It’s not necessarily about the money; it just doesn’t make sense for my career. So if I’m fighting a guy with a 10-6 record, I don’t feel like that would benefit my career.” [Click Here To Read More]
He did, stopping Escalante in the eighth round of their October 2012 bout in San Antonio. Juarez took a week and a half off to celebrate his first win since 2008 and then headed back to the gym, expecting to get a call for an even bigger fight. It didn’t come.
“One month after another I didn’t receive a call and I was waiting,” said Juarez. “It got discouraging, and at one point I just said the hell with it and I stopped training. But I have to be in the gym and I have to be in combat, whether it’s sparring or hitting the bag.”
Eventually, the phone would ring, but not with anything Juarez wanted, not at this point in a pro career that began in 2001.
“I feel like with my experience and what I’ve gone through, and the fights that I’ve been through, I can’t take any fights that don’t make sense,” he said. “It’s not necessarily about the money; it just doesn’t make sense for my career. So if I’m fighting a guy with a 10-6 record, I don’t feel like that would benefit my career.” [Click Here To Read More]
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