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There were fireworks at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, as WBC super featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera (61-4-1, 42 KOs) and Rocky Juarez (25-1-1, 18 KOs) put on a fight of the year like battle from the beginning of the fight to the end of the last round.
The two fighters traded hard shots at close range to bust each other up, make each other bleed and win each other's respect. The fight was close and the judges saw it that way too. The fight was close enough in the mind of the three judges to make them score it a draw.
The first two rounds saw Barrera establish his jab to push Juarez back and outmaneuver the younger the fighter. The third round was the turning point when Juarez landed a hard left hook that almost sent Barrera down to the mat. After Juarez saw Barrera get rocked by the hard shot, he began to get more aggressive as the fight progressed.
Barrera was able to re-establish himself in the fourth round and use his boxing skills to outhustle Juarez, but he was still being caught by hard punches to the head and body.
As both men got off their stools to start the eight round, their faces were swollen from the punishing shots being exchanged, but Barrera appeared to be in worse condition. Juarez saw that Barrera was tired, breathing with his mouth wide open and began to throw and land more of his hard shots in the next couple of rounds as Barrera tried using his experience and movement to hang on to the early lead he created on the score cards. [details]
The two fighters traded hard shots at close range to bust each other up, make each other bleed and win each other's respect. The fight was close and the judges saw it that way too. The fight was close enough in the mind of the three judges to make them score it a draw.
The first two rounds saw Barrera establish his jab to push Juarez back and outmaneuver the younger the fighter. The third round was the turning point when Juarez landed a hard left hook that almost sent Barrera down to the mat. After Juarez saw Barrera get rocked by the hard shot, he began to get more aggressive as the fight progressed.
Barrera was able to re-establish himself in the fourth round and use his boxing skills to outhustle Juarez, but he was still being caught by hard punches to the head and body.
As both men got off their stools to start the eight round, their faces were swollen from the punishing shots being exchanged, but Barrera appeared to be in worse condition. Juarez saw that Barrera was tired, breathing with his mouth wide open and began to throw and land more of his hard shots in the next couple of rounds as Barrera tried using his experience and movement to hang on to the early lead he created on the score cards. [details]