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In boxing, the lessons can be hard to swallow. So is the jab of Marco Antonio Barrera. Rocky Juarez can attest to both.
Juarez came to the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 16 believing it was his night. Only four months removed from a life-and-death struggle with Barrera that was at first ruled a draw but later changed to a one-point victory for Barrera because of a scorecard miscalculation, the 25-year-old Olympic silver medalist was confident that this time the grand prize would not elude him as it had in Sydney six years ago and did again on May 20th in Los Angeles.
Both times Juarez believed he'd done enough to have his hand raised only to be frustrated by the opinions of others. His confidence buoyed by having bloodied Barrera's nose and face and taken him to his limits in their first encounter he was sure he would do more than merely touch the super featherweight champion's WBC title belt this time, as he had at the Staples Center after the decision went against him. This time things would be different because he would have the memory of the gold he wasn't given and the belt he never got to wear to spur him on if doubts surfaced.
"I touched his belt because it's just something I needed to feel to say to myself, 'That should have been mine.''' Juarez recalled a few days before the rematch with Barrera. "Just the same way as in the Olympics when I felt the gold medal should have been mine. I touched it, picked it up but, of course, I had to give it back. That just made me more determined.'' [details]
Juarez came to the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 16 believing it was his night. Only four months removed from a life-and-death struggle with Barrera that was at first ruled a draw but later changed to a one-point victory for Barrera because of a scorecard miscalculation, the 25-year-old Olympic silver medalist was confident that this time the grand prize would not elude him as it had in Sydney six years ago and did again on May 20th in Los Angeles.
Both times Juarez believed he'd done enough to have his hand raised only to be frustrated by the opinions of others. His confidence buoyed by having bloodied Barrera's nose and face and taken him to his limits in their first encounter he was sure he would do more than merely touch the super featherweight champion's WBC title belt this time, as he had at the Staples Center after the decision went against him. This time things would be different because he would have the memory of the gold he wasn't given and the belt he never got to wear to spur him on if doubts surfaced.
"I touched his belt because it's just something I needed to feel to say to myself, 'That should have been mine.''' Juarez recalled a few days before the rematch with Barrera. "Just the same way as in the Olympics when I felt the gold medal should have been mine. I touched it, picked it up but, of course, I had to give it back. That just made me more determined.'' [details]
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