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Rocky's Road Continues
By Steve Kim (October 14, 2002)

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In every prospects career there are threshold fights designed to gauge the progress of a fighter. These bouts aren't meant to be life-and-death struggles, but rather measuring sticks to see just where they can go with a career at that point. A marking post that will be used to chart the level of progression of a fledgling fighter.

Usually, heavily hyped bonus babies that come out of the Olympic games are given an assortment of cannon fodder early on, designed to create momentum and interest in the fighter. Then, long before a title shot is near and not to far from when he was fighting no-hopers and journeyman, they take a step up. Usually, it's a faded veteran, long past his best day, who in his prime was a former champion, with much more experience and a name that is familiar to those in the know.

Rocky Juarez takes that step this upcoming Saturday on Showtime when he takes on Hector Acero-Sanchez in a scheduled ten rounder in Houston, Texas. Sanchez, is past his prime, but he comes with solid credentials.
The 36-year-old Dominican is the former WBC super bantamweight titlist ( having beat Tracy Harris Patterson for the belt in August of 1994). Sanchez's record is littered with familiar names: two bouts against Daniel Zaragoza, Erik Morales, Kennedy McKinney, Carlos Barreto and Nana Konadu. He wouldn't win any of those bouts but he was never stopped and he always held his own.

Juarez, should be the sizable favorite at this stage of their respective careers. But even so, it's his biggest test to date.

"Very much," agreed Juarez. "I look at this as a big step-up fight. It's going to be a tough fight because the experience he has and I believe it's going to be good for my career."

And he realizes that Sanchez is a cagey veteran that has proven to be durable.

"Yeah, I saw tape of him and he's very awkward, hands down, but at the same time slick," said Juarez, in describing his opponent.

But regardless of style, Juarez says he can adjust, "I adapt to any style, I can't pick a particular style that fits me. If a guy comes at me, I can try and
out-box him if I can. If not, I go in-and-out on a guy. It's just a matter of time, being careful and just walking him down, sooner or later I catch up to him and catch him with my shots."

Juarez, is a solid boxer-puncher, whose strength is coming forward and slowly but surely breaking his opposition down with a steady stream of body shots. But in Sanchez he may find that more difficult to do.

"I think Sanchez is going to try and use his abilities or his strengths to his advantage," said Carl Moretti, matchmaker for Main Events, which promotes Juarez. "His experience, his chin and his boxing ability. I don't think he's going to stand in front of Rocky, he's going to make it as difficlut as he can, using angles, jabs, and fight backing up. As opposed to making it an easy target for Juarez."

And while he's always had a well-earned reputation for being a gym rat, Juarez admits that for this fight, he's going the extra mile.

"I feel I do work harder (for big fights)," he admits. "Lately I've been putting in a little extra work. Playing some basketball, not so much playing
with people but just moving around and just kind of using that as a little extra workout. My running is the same, I run six miles and I'm sparring 10 rounds. So I think it's really mental because of the fact I stay in the gym a lot and I work out hard all the time. For me to know that I can go 10 rounds in the gym, it lets me know I can go and do the same in a fight."

After winning a silver medal in the 2000 Olympic Games, this native of Houston would suffer a perplexing start to his professional career. In front
of a nationally televised audience on Showtime, he failed to impress against the unorthodox Pascali Adorno and then in his second bout he would face Mike Jones, who laid down like a rug on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights. This bout would draw the ire of the broadcasting crew.

Meanwhile, stablemates Jeff Lacy and Francisco Bojado would notch one spectacular knockout victory after another, capturing the attention of the media and fans. For awhile, Juarez, despite his Olympic showing and his impressive amateur background, was a forgotten man.

"Yeah, I'm sure that happened," admitted Moretti, "and it wasn't Rocky's fault. It was really my fault, he was given an awkward southpaw in his pro debut, which we weren't aware off. He was given a guy who took a dive in his second pro bout and at the same time Lacy and Bojado were scoring great knockouts, so the limelight came off of him and went to the other
guys. It's not Rocky's fault in anyway, it's just a natural reaction from the media and everyone else to hype other guys when they see that."

It was also a by-product of his style that made it easy to overlook his progress. Unlike a Lacy or Bojado, Juarez, really doesn't possess that true
one-punch knockout eraser. Instead, Juarez is a guy that impresses you more and more as the rounds go on and you begin to notice his subtle skills.

"Maybe so," says Shelly Finkel, his manager. "He's always been a consistent, steady force, that improves, then moves, then improves, then moves. He's never super flashy, everything is specific, put together as he supposed to. He's moving right on target."

But according to Showtime's boxing czar, Jay Larkin, Juarez was always in their present and future plans.

"Rocky, no dispersions on Jeff Lacy or 'Panchito' or anyone else in the class, Rocky, was always my favorite going into the Olympics in Sydney. Rocky was
the one I personally had my eye on," claimed Larkin, whose network has made Juarez a staple on their boxing program.

"I've always believed in Rocky, I've always believed that Rocky had the ability to be the standout of the class and he's always reminded me of Finito Lopez. From the first time I saw him fight, he reminded me of Ricardo Lopez, a similar, quiet calm about him, a similar self-assurance and a marvelous sense of where his body is in the ring that Lopez possesses. So Rocky has been stepping up continuously and this fight on the 19th, he's making a major step-up when he fights an ex-world champion in Hector Acero-Sanchez.

"I couldn't be happier with Rocky Juarez as an individual and as a fighter. He's a lovely young man."

Finkel says that, "Within the next 12 to 18 months, he will be in the top 10, maybe top 5, ready for a title."

And expect Juarez, who's as well mannered a young man as you'll ever see, to still be fighting as a featherweight.

"Well, I weighed out at 131 this past Saturday (two weeks before the fight)," said Juarez. "I feel that's good, I'm supposed to fight this fight at 127, give or take. I know I can keep it, it's matter of me waiting 'till my day comes when I fight for a world title. I might have to head to a training camp. I can tell you right now, I eat whatever I want."

But right now the focus is on Sanchez.

"It's clearly a step-up for Rocky," Moretti says, "and if you look at Hector Acero-Sanchez, the former WBC champion, maybe he's on the downside a little bit, but he certainly still has a lot to offer. I think he is the toughest opponent, not only that Rocky has faced, but any Olympian in the class of 2000 has yet to face in their careers."

And Rocky realizes that he might hit some rough waters for the first time in his professional career.

"I feel like this fight is going to make me look good and it's going to make me look bad. Just as long as I keep my game plan, I think what people are going to see is that I'm a fighter who keeps his composure. I think everybody knows that Sanchez is a guy who's very awkward and can make fights look bad with his experience.

"He's going to make me look bad at times but at the same time that's what I'm going to learn from and I'm going to be consistent and I'm going to be stronger. It's like chopping a tree down and I'll start getting to him in the later rounds."

ROCKY'S VIEW

Being a featherweight Juarez will be very interested observer when Marco Antonio Barrera-Johnny Tapia and Erik Morales-Paulie Ayala take place in November. So who does Rocky tab in those fights?

"I feel Morales and Barrera," answered Juarez. "I feel that way because they're the bigger guys, I feel they're stronger physically. I think Paulie's going to have a tough fight, I don't think he's ever fought anybody
with the snap and power as Morales. And Morales does know how to fight southpaws.

"And Tapia's a fighter who's almost about to give it up. He's already at that age. Morales and Barrera are still going to be there whenever I get there. They'll still be standing on that stool as one of the top contenders out there."

SUPPLEMENTS

In light of Fernando Vargas' recent allegations of steroid use, much has been made of what fighters put into their bodies.

Juarez says he doesn't take any supplements outside of a Centrum, multi-vitamin.

I'm still a Flintstone guy myself.

For Questions or Comments
E-Mail Steve Kim at k9kim@maxboxing.com

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