Mexican boxing legend Marco Antonio Barrera lost a chance to fight lightweight champion Jesus Chavez in March due to an injury suffered by Chavez. Instead, he will put his WBC super featherweight title on the line against an American hopeful. That American is 2000 Olympic silver medalist Rocky Juarez who is entering the fight of his life. Juarez is hungry and looking for his first major professional championship, so the fight against Barrera should be an instant classic.




Barrera, #5 on Blog and Weave's Pound-for-Pound rankings, has won his last four fights — including his second win in three fights over Erik Morales — but the memory of his last loss still leaves a bad taste in his mouth. In November 2003, Barrera suffered an 11th-round TKO to Manny Pacquiao. Barrera had trouble with the lefty Filipino and lost the WBC featherweight title he originally won when he beat Morales in 2002. Saturday night's fight will be his third title defense of his WBC belt.

Barrera, while only 32 years old, is an old 32 years old and nearing the twilight of his Hall of Fame career but he claims he didn't pick Juarez because he thought he'd be an easy opponent. That said, Barrera has already reserved a date at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for November 11 against an unnamed opponent, so it'll remain to be seen if Barrera is over looking Juarez.

While Barrera can be called the best feather and super featherweight fighter of his generation, it's Juarez who hopes to do the same for the next few years. Beating Barrera will get Juarez back on track after a somewhat disappointing start to his professional career.

Juarez had a great amateur career, capped by a silver medal in the 2000 Athens Summer Games. After turning profession in January 2001, the Texas native won his first twenty-three fights, including a victory in a IBF Featherweight title eliminator bout against then-undefeated Zahir Raheem, also an American Olympian. Juarez won by unanimous decision and earned the minor WBC Continental Americas featherweight belt. With his stock rising, Juarez won three more fights and was set to face the dangerous South Korean Injin Chi. However, less than three weeks before the fight, Chi was injured and Juarez accepted an interim title bout against the relatively unknown Humberto Soto of Mexico. Soto pounded out an impressive 12-round unanimous decision over Juarez, and it was Soto who went on to win the WBC featherweight championship.

With no belt and his first professional lost, Juarez went on to win two small fights in December 2005 and January 2006, both by way of knockout but against lesser opponents. But as luck has it, Juarez caught a break when Barrera's original opponent, lightweight titlist Jesus Chavez, severely injured his arm and had to pull out of a fight originally scheduled in March. Now Juarez is looking to cash in on the break the same way Soto did against him, but it won't be easy.

Barrera is an outstanding fighter, one who can slug it out or tactically out-box his opponents. Early in his career, Barrera relied on his heavy hands and his signature left hook but after a few losses, Barrera's become more of a technically boxer, using jabs to keep opponents at bay and set up for his power punches. Barrera can still end fights early, as evident by his second-round knockout against Mzonke Fana in April 2005. When Barrera gets in trouble, it's against quicker boxers (i.e. Pacquiao) who can attack and get out before Barrera can land a shot.

Rocky Juarez can do just that, which makes this fight all the more interesting. Like Barrera, Juarez's knockout punch is his left hook, but don't forget to look for the short, compact right. Juarez thrives on throwing combinations and moving inside and trading punches, mostly his left hand, either by way of hooks or uppercuts.

Both fighters not only have great skill, but have great heart and desire which can carry them through this fight. Juarez is hungry for his first major title, but he's also moving up from featherweight to super featherweight for the first time, so he may be outclassed against Barrera. Juarez is a hard worker in the gym, so he should be in great shape, but all the hard work before the fight could cause him to lose steam in the later rounds. In his loss to Soto, it seemed Juarez struggled against the stronger fighter, so Barrera, being the natural 130-pound fighter, should use his size and strength to his advantage and take this fight inside.

Barrera will be a boxer, not a fighter, on Saturday night, winning the rounds by landing the clearer shots. Juarez will have his moments and will land a few left hooks that will have the crowd on its feet — and yes, I will be in attendance — but in the end, Barrera will indeed outclass Juarez and take the fight by a close decision. Even if he loses, I suspect Juarez will look good in doing so and gain a lot of respect.

Prediction: Barrera by unanimous decision.