Barrera-Juarez II:
'Too Close To Call' No Classic
Barrera retains title with less-than-thrilling boxing lesson over Rocky Juarez; Guzman edges Barrior for belt; Gonzalez-Vazquez steals the show in war

Ringside by Victor Perea and Albert Howell
Photos by Chris Cozzone

“I gave him a boxing lesson—that’s exactly what I intended to do.”

So spoke future Hall-of-Famer Marco Antonio Barrera after his one-sided, effortless decision win over younger, hungrier Rocky Juarez last night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on an HBO-PPV-televised card, billed as “Too Close To Call” and promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.

A crowd of 10,400 showed up to watch what they thought would be another war from the original fight April 1, in which Barrera eked out a lucky win over Juarez.

They, like Juarez, were disappointed.

The fight, punctuated by boos from the crowd, clinches from Barrera and an inability of Juarez to force a fight out of the master technician, did live up to expectations.

Barrera opened the bout the aggressor, moving in quickly and landing stiff jabs and hard hooks to the body of the slow-starting Juarez. Barrera continued his dominance throughout the first three rounds, mainly firing jabs but occasionally mixing in solid uppercuts and straight right hands that shook and bruised the Houston challenger.

Although he’d admitted to starting too late in their first encounter, Juarez was on the same path last night in the rematch. Appearing too laid back, he waited too long to force a fight.

In the second round, Juarez mounted a notable counter attack, backing backing Barrera into the ropes with a barrage of body shots. Barrera answered back with a right uppercut, snapping Juarez’ head back and chasing him across the ring with damaging straight lefts that caused a swelling under Juarez’ right eye that threatened to close at any time.

Then, in the fourth round, Barrera began to slow down, and allowed Juarez to pick up the slack and engage Barrera with three-punch combinations. Barrera continued to sit back during the middle rounds, countering with an uppercut and using his jab from time to time to win the rounds, while losing the crowd with his lackluster effort and all-too-often, never-warned clinching.

Juarez’ right eye began to swell noticeably as the fighters headed into the second half of the contest. Juarez grew frustrated as he chased Barrera around the ring, trying to pick a fight.

Barrera would have none of it.

Fighting only when he needed to, Barrera continued to move around the ring, pacing left and right and every which way—but forward. The patient crowd, who’d been so handsomely rewarded with action-packed bouts from the very first contest, filled the arena with boos and expletive chants en Espanol that where meant to encourage the Mexican legend to engage in a slugfest.

At one point, Juarez stood in the middle of the ring, pounding his midsection daring Barrera to fight. Barrera responded with the same “come and get it” signals.

Yet, nothing happened. Nothing much, anyway.

The persistence on the side of Juarez paid off as he gained back lost ground on the judges’ scorecards during the middle rounds. Using a jab- straight left to tag Barrera on occasion, Juarez seemed to take a page out of the Manny Pacquiao book in an attempt to dethrone the champion.

But, it wasn’t enough. Juarez lacked the speed, power and perseverance of a challenger in the lion’s den and, in the end, he failed yet again to make a convincing effort in his second tango with Barrera.

Despite Juarez’s willingness to fight, Barrera stole the later rounds with infrequent counter punches that, with the help of the hungry crowd, influenced the judges to score it for the fighter who showed a smidgen more ring generalship.

At the end of 12 rounds, the scorecards read 115-113 twice  and 117-111.

“I went in there with the same game plan,” said a disappointed Juarez, who drops to 25-3 (18 KOs).

“I felt I was the aggressor again. He didn’t want to fight. He never hurt me, not once, except for a good punch in the eye.

“But I fought well. I think I did better this time.”

With the win, Barrera, now 63-4 (42 KOs), retains his WBC super featherweight belt.

“I learned never to fight on the level of my opponent,” he said.

“I’m the champion. I used my jab and moved very fast.”

Oscar De la Hoya, head of Golden Boy Promotions, Barrera’s promoter, stated that this would, more than likely, be the last fight of the year for Barrera, who is likely to retire in 2007.

“Next year I want to retire,” said Barrera. “I want to spend time with my son.

“But my next best fight would be Pacquiao—but I would take whoever Oscar has me fight.” --VP

Show-stealer: Vazquez stops Gonzalez!

In what by his own admission will be his last bout at 122-pounds, WBC super bantamweight champion Israel “El Magnifico” Vazquez gave as gutsy of a performance as you will see in the ring en route to a 10th round TKO victory in his fifth title defense.

Vazquez was only able to give such a great performance because of an equally impressive will to win from fellow Mexico City native Johnny Gonzalez who gave a timeless performance albeit in a losing effort.

Vazquez came out like in the first round as if they had already been boxing for a round.  Vazquez took only a moment to measure out the distance between himself and the taller Gonzalez. Vazquez used a crisp jab and clean counters to push back the attack of Gonzalez.

Vazquez continued to employ his jab during the second round while Gonzalez pressured from the outside to land long right hands. Vazquez limited himself to two punch combinations, but he doubled on the jab occasionally and threw a few right hooks while Gonzalez used his reach advantage to land a long stiff jab followed with an overhand right.  Past the midway mark in the second, Vazquez caught the rangy challenger with a left hook to the face which caused Gonzalez to bleed heavily from the nose.

In the third, Gonzalez continued to throw long right hands while Vazquez concentrated on a body assault.  Gonzalez began to take control of the thus far technical bout, with every punch thrown behind the jab which limited Vazquez from being able to get close enough to connect.  By the end of the round, the efficient jab of Gonzalez had resulted in a nasty swelling on the outside corner of the right eye of Vazquez.

Just moments into the fourth round, Gonzalez threw out a stiff jab and followed it up with a popping left hook that sent Vazquez down.  Quick to his feet, Vazquez countered with a jab-straight right combination that caught and stunned Gonzalez, sending him backwards and busting open his nose again, which bled heavily throughout the remainder of the contest.

In the fifth round, Gonzalez continued to swing.  Just before the bell sounded to end the round, Vazquez walked into a hard straight right which stunned him momentarily.

Sticking with what worked, Gonzalez kept his jab constantly in the face of Vazquez in the sixth round.  In the final minute of the round, Vazquez connected with a flush right hook that hurt Gonzalez.  Vazquez pursued and threw another right only to be countered with a hard left hook that dropped him with only moments left in round.  Vazquez slowly climbed to his knees and then to an upright position at the count of four.

“He caught me,” said Vazquez.  “I had my hands down and he caught me with a clean hook.  I went to my corner and Freddie (Roach) told me to quit doing that, close the distance.”

Vazquez did just that in the seventh round, “El Magnifico” came out pummeling Gonzalez.  Vazquez connected with right hand after right hand  -  from right hook to straight right  -  the punches landed. Gonzalez backpedaled as he ate the right hands.  With approximately a minute left in the round, Vazquez landed a right hand to the face that was followed with a hard, precise right hand to the chin and Gonzalez crumpled to the canvas.

Referee Kenny Bayless reached the count of seven before Gonzalez was able to regain his composure.

The jab of Gonzalez slowed in the eighth and gave Vazquez an opportunity to close the distance for a body attack.  Shortly after the first minute mark, Vazquez put Gonzalez back on the canvas with a series of punches to the ribcage but the referee ruled the fall was not a knockdown.

In the ninth, Gonzalez battled back with his jab and straight left while Vazquez continued his pressure with the left hands.  Toward the end of the ninth, Vazquez drilled in a straight right-left hook to the jaw that rocked Gonzalez.

“I felt that I hurt him in the end of the ninth round,” observed Vazquez.  “I know he was feeling my left. He was still coming strong the whole fight, but I felt him back down a little just then.”

The game but worn Gonzalez came out for the tenth round only to be met by a champion not willing to give up his belt. Vazquez worked his right hand as Gonzalez tried to keep him back with the jab but it was useless.  With just over a minute left in the round, Vazquez hammered Gonzalez with a powerful left hook to the head which was followed by a left-right combination to the chin.  Gonzalez crumpled to the ground.

The broken warrior looked to his corner in dismay and began to stand at the count of eight.  Referee Kenny Bayless wiped the gloves of Gonzalez while at the same time his corner signaled their surrender.

At the request of the Gonzalez corner, Bayless waved the bout over and declared Vazquez the winner by TKO at 2:09 of the 10th round.

“The plan was to go to the body early and break him down,” outlined Vazquez trainer Freddie Roach.  “It didn’t go that way.  Israel was sluggish at first, but he had great conditioning.  Justin Fortune (assistant trainer) made sure of that, excellent conditioning.”

Roach commented:  “Johnny Gonzalez has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. He was amazing, he showed the kind of heart most boxers only wished they had.”

“I have to thank Johnny Gonzalez for being such a tough fighter,” said a jubilant Vazquez, who ups his record to 40-3 (29 KOs).  “Johnny is such a smart fighter. I know he wanted to be the champion and I know he gave me everything he had.  That was a war out there, I was glad to come out on top.”

Gonzalez, now 33-4 (28 KOs), was rumored to be moving up in weight stated:  “I’m going to talk to the team and figure out what my next move will be. I am surprised by the outcome.” --VP

Guzman edges Barrios in slugging match for WBO belt

In the co-main event, Joan Guzman, fighting for the WBO junior lightweight belt that’d been stripped from former champ Jorge Barrios at the scales, capitalized on the opportunity and won the vacant crown with a 12-round split decision victory.

Guzman came out like a whirlwind at the sound of the opening bell, throwing everything but the kitchen sink at his opponent. The game Barrios, though, was able to hold up under the initial pressure and, as the round wore on, was able to mount his own attack.

After a first round fought at breakneck speed, Guzman settled into a persistent attack that included patient counter-punching. Barrios proved effective backing Guzman to the ropes where he would unleash a flurry of punches, bettering his adversary on most of these occasions. Guzman appeared to be the more skilled boxer but Barrios’ aggression and willingness to press the action undoubtedly won him many of the close rounds.

In round six, referee Vic Drakulich deducted a point from Barrios for a low blow, and the deduction would ultimately determine the fate of the bout. Feeling the urgency to recapture the point deducted by Drakulich, Barrios pressed the action even more in the second half of this bout.

Guzman’s effective power punching was not enough to keep Barrios off of him and the Argentian’s phenomenal work-rate helped close the gap. But, in round eleven, the active Barrios was rocked at the end of round by a big right. Barrios had to hold on to his foe just to finish the round on his feet.

Conceding the eleventh round, Barrios found himself too far behind on the scorecards, but he dug deep to win a spectacular round twelve that included brutal exchange after exchange—still, it was not enough to overcome the early deficit.

Although Guzman was more economical with his punches, he landed his power shots at a much higher rate than his adversary. According to CompuBox punch stats, Guzman landed 215 of 428 or 50% of his power punches. Barrios, on the other hand, threw 675 power punches, only landing 177, or 26%. Neither man landed many jabs. Only 65 of the total connects in this bout (33 for Barrios and 32 for Guzman) were jabs. This was a crowd pleasing, power punching affair.

Guzman emerged from the hard fought battle as the victor and new WBO junior lightweight champion with scores that read 115-112, 114-113, for Guzman, and 114-113 for Barrios

Absent the deduction, this match would have been declared a draw. The undefeated Guzman, now 26-0, 17 KOs, escaped with the narrow victory, adding the 130 pound WBO championship belt to a list of accomplishments that also includes the WBO’s 122 pound belt previously held.

Barrios slips to 46-3-1, 33 KOs. --AH

Paez nearly derailed!

The night's opening pay-per-view bout featured, son of a legend Jorge Paez Jr., in what was supposed to be a showcase bout against Midwest starter Derrick Campos.

From the opening bell Campos came out throwing left hooks with bad intentions. Paez took note and maneuvered around the wide shots from Campos. Paez was looking to jab and feel out the round, but Campos knew he only had four rounds to win over the judges, and he continued to throw, albeit, telegraph, his wide left hooks. At least once, however, he caught Paez, who was a bit shaken, if not hurt.

Paez landed a clean counter for the first time in the round and Campos answered back with another left hook. Both fighters traded even shots to end the round.

Campos started the second round throwing with less composure than he did in the opening stanza. His sloppy approach earned him a powerful counter left hook from Paez, who wobbled him. Paez followed up with another left that landed, then an overhand right that missed, as Campos’ backside kissed the canvas.

Campos beat the count and opted not to lay back, instead going after Paez and hurting him with a big right hand, making the round close despite the knockdown

Paez uses a straight right-left hook combo to keep Campos away, back-peddling and dancing his way to an uneventful third round, turning it up in the last 20 seconds to steal the round.

It was more of the same throughout the fourth round for Paez, as he used his jab and an occasional straight right to hold off Campos. Sensing the urgency and at his corner?s advice, Campos was relentless and Paez, almost out of it until, with just 13 seconds left in the fight, Campos finally landed the big left hook he had been throwing.

Paez took it clean and fell off the ropes onto the ground. Although he made it to his feet, he did not look able to continue. Fortunately for him, referee Jay Nady bestowed upon him a gift, allowing the bout to continue—what few seconds there remained of it.

Before Campos could close show, the bell rang, to Paez’s relief.

The crowd and both fighters awaited the decision with great anticipation, sensing the close contest. The crowd vocalized their disappointment as Paez Jr. was declared the winner by majority decision.

Judes Robert Hoyle and Jerry Roth scored the bout the same, 38-36 for Paez Jr., while Judge Dalby Shirley scored it with Fightnews.com 37-37. --VP

Off-TV results

Crawford scores 12-second KO

The night’s opening bout was also the quickest as Paterson, NJ’s Henry Crawford wasted absolutely no time with fellow welterweight Adam Wynant, sending him back home faster than Dorothy got to Kansas.

Wynant came out with a soft jab that Crawford countered with a three punch combination to the body. Before Wynant could respond, Crawford threw a left jab that opened his opponent up to a huge overhand right that froze Wynant and sent his stiff frame falling back to the canvas.

Referee Robert Byrd waived off the bout as it was clear Wynant was in no shape to stand up, let alone fight, declaring Crawford the winner by KO at just :12 seconds of the first round.

The much traveled undefeated Crawford, who has fought everywhere from D.C., Florida, California, New Jersey and, now, Vegas, improves to 12-0-1 (5 KOs) while Wynant, a Midwest fighter previously fed to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., drops to 12-5-1 (6 KOs). Previous to being stopped by Crawford, Wynant was on a three-fight win streak against winless fighters since his loss to Chavez Jr.—the combined record of his opponents, including tonight’s bout, is a grim 122-206-9. --VP

Martinez knocks out Green

Making his professional debut, junior welterweight Anthony Martinez (1-0, 1 KO) scored a dramatic second round knockout victory over Leon Green (1-1).

In the first round, Green was content to stay on the outside and play the role of counter puncher. But as the round wore on, Martinez began to find his target.

By the second round, Martinez was effectively cutting off the ring, mitigating Green‘s advantage. Dismantling his opponent’s game plan put Martinez in the driver’s seat. A confident Martinez nailed Green with a brutal left hook flush on the chin. Green crumbled to the canvas. Referee Jay Nady immediately called a halt to the bout at 1:14 of round two. --AH

Gonzalez beats Montes de Oca

In their six round welterweight bout, Euri Gonzales (12-0, 9 KOs) won a split decision victory over Juan Pablo Montes de Oca (8-10-2, 5 KOs). Gonzales exposed Montes de Oca as a wide puncher with a porous defense. Using his footwork to establish his jab, he frequently frustrated his Montes de Oca by beating his adversary to the punch.

Gonzales did allow Montes de Oca to keep the fight close by engaging his opponent in unnecessary yet entertaining power exchanges throughout the fight. Getting the best of his opponent in many of these power exchanges, Montes de Oca was able to steal a round here and there. In a sloppy third round both men received a one point deduction for illegal low blows.

Both Gonzales and Montes de Oca demonstrated that they could take a punch. But, in the end, it was Gonzales’ ability to box from the outside that proved decisive. Gonzales kept Montes de Oca off balance when he assumed the role of counter puncher and he played that role just often enough throughout the bout to earn the decision victory and remain undefeated.

The scorecards read 58-54, 57-55 for Gonzales and 57-55 for Montes. --AH

Reza decisions Mendez

In an exciting four-round featherweight bout that reminded ticket holders why it pays to arrive early for the undercard bouts, Miguel Reza improved to 3-1 with a majority decision over Norwalk, CA’?s Sergio Mendez, now to 4-3 (1 KO).

Mendez was quick to go to the body from the second the bout started, while Reza chose to counter the forward-coming Mendez with overhand rights and looping uppercuts that landed on occasion during an action-packed first round.

Midway through the round, an accidental clash of heads caused the bout to be paused temporarily as Reza began to bleed from the hairline. Following the advise of a ringside physician, referee Jay Nady allowed the bout to continue.

The bleeding was never a factor in the fight for Reza, who found himself back-peddling throughout the first half of the bout, eating several hard hooks to the body. Mendez began to go upstairs more often during the third round, during which he showed signs of tiring. Reza, having saved much of his energy, stole the round on two of the judges’ scorecards, landing the cleaner blows during the round.

Mendez danced his way around the ring and clinched often, seemingly thinking he had the fight won. His corner disagreed and called for him to keep his hands moving. Frustrated, Reza complained to the referee about Mendez? constant clinching—unbeknownst to Reza, he had already won the bout.

Much to the disappointment of the vocal crowd, Judges Robert Hoyle and Patricia Jarman scored the bout 40-36 and 39-37 for Reza, while Judge Dalby Shirley scored the bout the same as Fightnews: 38-38—a draw. --VP

McEwan earns TKO in pro debut

In his professional debut, middleweight Craig McEwan (1-0, 1 KO) earned a first round TKO victory over opponent George Montalvo (1-4-0).

Boasting an extensive amateur background, McEwan, of Scotland, is being groomed under the auspices of legendary trainer Freddie Roach.

Montalvo never posed a threat to McEwan. Montalvo demonstrated sloppy technical skill, including awkward footwork punctuated by wide punches. On the other hand, McEwan showed as a slick fighter and crisp puncher. Montalvo was clearly outclassed from the opening bell. McEwan landed at will while Montalvo missed the mark on nearly every punch attempted.

McEwan landed a big left hook upstairs that hurt Montalvo. With Montalvo bleeding from the nose, McEwan tee’d off on his opponent. Montalvo ate power punch after power shot before Referee Robert Byrd finally stepped in and waived off the bout at 2:16 of the first round.

Bonus photos