Ricardo "Rocky" Juárez (born April 15, 1980) is an American former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. He is a former

WBC Silver The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, th ...

champion and a multiple-time world title challenger. Juarez was known over his career for his aggressive fighting style and incredible durability; in 11 defeats he was never stopped.

Amateur career

Juarez had a lustrous amateur career with a 145–17 record, which included a 68 fight winning streak, a Featherweight Olympic silver medal and a Junior Olympic World and National gold medal. In 1999 he won the world title at the 1999 World Amateur Boxing Championships in his home town. During the 2000 Olympics Gold medal round, Juarez loss controversially against

Bekzat Sattarkhanov Bekzat Seilkhanovich Sattarkhanov ( kz, Бекзат Сеилханович Саттарханов; 4 April 1980 — 31 December 2000) was a Kazakh boxer who competed in the men's featherweight division (57 kg) at the 2000 Summer Olympics a ...

who was warned several times for holding and not penalized. It should be also noted that by the end of the second round Juarez was losing 11 points and had only 4 points to lose the match by RSC. Juarez accepted the silver medal. *1998 United States Amateur Featherweight champion. Results were: **Undepited Daniel Chavez points **Defeated Darling Jimenez points **Defeated

Aaron Torres Aaron Torres (born October 26, 1978) is a professional boxer. Torres won the bronze medal at the 1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games or the 13th Pan American Games, was a major interna ...

points **Defeated Hong Gu points *1999 United States Amateur Featherweight champion. Results were: **Defeated Jose Santa Cruz points **Defeated Francisco Valentin TKO 3 **Defeated Ray Martinez points **Defeated

points **Defeated Steve Luevano points *2000 United States Amateur Featherweight champion *Member of the 2000 U.S.

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

team as a Featherweight, winning a silver medal. Results were: **Defeated Bijan Batmani (Iran) RSC-3 **Defeated

Falk Huste Falk Huste (born November 6, 1971 in Greiz, Thüringen) is a boxer from Germany, who won the bronze medal in the Men's Featherweight (– 57 kg) division at the 2000 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Tampere, Finland. He is the o ...

(Germany) points **Defeated Somluck Kamsing (Thailand) RSC-4 **Defeated

Kamil Dzamalutdinov Kamil Djamaloudinov (born August 15, 1979 in Dagestan) is a boxer from Russia, who won the bronze medal in the featherweight division (– 57 kg) at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. In the semifinals he was defeated by even ...

(Russia) points **Lost to

(Kazakhstan) points

Professional career

Juarez turned pro on January 25, 2001 with a unanimous decision against Pascali Adorno. A highly touted prospect, Juarez rose up the ranks with wins against Hector Velazquez, and Joe Morales. Juarez's 10th-round knockout of Antonio Diaz was named

Ring Magazine Knockout of the Year '' The Ring'' magazine was established in 1922 and has named a Knockout of the Year since 1989, based on the magazine's writers' criteria. Knockouts of the Year by decade 1980s * 1989: Michael Nunn ''KO 1'' Sumbu Kalambay 1990s * 1990: Terry ...

for 2003. His first challenge came from 1996 Olympian

Zahir Raheem Zahir Raheem (born November 7, 1976 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American boxer. Known as "King Raheem", his current professional record stands at 33 wins, 3 losses with 20 knockouts. After a stellar amateur career, which included a 213- ...

on July 17, 2004, in which he won by controversial decision, possibly due to the fight taking place at Juarez's hometown in Houston, Texas. Juarez's first career loss came to

Humberto Soto Armando Humberto Soto Ochoa (born May 11, 1980), best known as Humberto Soto, is a Mexican professional boxer. A veteran of the sport for over 20 years, he is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC super featherwei ...

, who was a late sub replacement to

In Jin Chi Chi In-jin (, born July 18, 1973, in Seoul) is a South Korean former professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 1996. He has held the WBC featherweight title twice between 2004 and 2007. Career Boxing Chi made his debut as a professional bo ...

. Soto won the Interim version of the WBC featherweight title. Juarez bounced back with back-to-back wins against Reynaldo Hurtado and Backlin Medrano and earned a shot against

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

legend, Marco Antonio Barrera for his WBC Super featherweight title. Juarez fought Barrera on May 20, 2006 in the

Staples Center Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999; it w ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. Barrera used his jab to win the early rounds, but it was obvious from the start that Juarez wasn't backing down hurting Barrera's nose in the process. During the second half of the fight Juarez took control by rocking Barrera and making him spit out his mouthpiece several times. In a very close fight, the bout was announced originally as a draw, but later it was revealed that two of the judges scorecards had an error, as Barrera was granted the win by split decision. Despite losing, Juarez gained notoriety by standing toe to toe with one of the best

pound-for-pound Pound for pound is a ranking used in combat sports, such as boxing, wrestling, or mixed martial arts, of who the better fighters are irrespective of their weight, i.e. adjusted to compensate for weight class. As these fighters do not compete d ...

boxers in the world. Although not required by contract, Barrera and Juarez met in a rematch on September 16, this time Barrera winning comfortably on points through a unanimous decision (117-111, 115–113, 115-113). As a replacement for

Jorge Rodrigo Barrios Jorge Rodrigo Barrios (born August 1, 1976) is an Argentine former professional boxer who held the WBO junior lightweight title. Professional career Barrios made his professional boxing debut on August 10, 1996 with a second-round knockout vic ...

, Rocky Juarez stepped in and fought

Juan Manuel Márquez Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez (born August 23, 1973) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He is known for defeating Manny Pacquiao. He is the third Mexican boxer (after Érik Morales and Jorge Arce) to become ...

for the WBC Super Featherweight title on November 3, 2007. He lost to Marquez on a unanimous decision. Juarez fought most of the fight with a bad cut above his left eye due to an accidental headbutt in the first round. On September 6, 2008, Rocky Juarez, (27-4, 19 KO's) won by TKO at 2:55 in the 11th round of the 12-rounder over former WBO Junior Lightweight Champion

, (47-3-1, 34 KO's). In his fourth attempt at a title, Juarez fought Chris John to a controversial draw on February 28, 2009 in his hometown of Houston. Most ringside observers thought John won. The two were supposed to fight a rematch on June 27 of that year but John withdrew from the fight due to problems with his blood tests. The rematch finally took place on September 19 and the fight was won by John. Rocky Juarez fought

Jason Litzau Jason John Litzau (born June 29, 1983) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 2002 and 2016. He challenged once for the IBF featherweight title in 2008. Early life In his youth Litzau played Little League Baseball, as a pit ...

on April 3, 2010, losing by a controversial technical decision when the fight was halted in the seventh round due to a cut on Litzau's cheek which referee Jay Nady ruled was caused by an accidental head butt. The judges scored it 68-65 and 67-66 twice, in favour of the winner, Jason Litzau.

Professional Boxing Record

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="8", 29 Wins (21 knockouts, 8 decisions), 9 Losses, 1 Draw (s), 0 No Contests , - , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Record , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Type , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Round , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , -align=center , Win , 29-9-1 , align=left,

Antonio Escalante Antonio Escalante (born June 3, 1985) is a Mexican professional boxer. Amateur career He is also a two time Golden Gloves champion. Professional career On September 18, 2010, Escalante lost to former champion Daniel Ponce de León in a WBO Wor ...

, TKO , 8 , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Loss , 28-9-1 , align=left, Andrew Cancio , UD , 10 , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Loss , 28-9-1 , align=left,

Vicente Escobedo Vicente Escobedo (born November 6, 1981) is an American professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2013. As an amateur, he represented his country at the 2003 World Championships and the 2004 Summer Olympics. Amateur career As an amateur Esc ...

, UD , 10 , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Loss , 28-8-1 , align=left, Alejandro Sanabria , UD , 12 , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Loss , 28-7-1 , align=left,

Jorge Linares Jorge Luis Linares Palencia (born 22 August 1985) is a Venezuelan professional boxer. He has held world championships in three weight classes, including the WBC featherweight title from 2007 to 2008; the WBA super featherweight title from 20 ...

, UD , 12 , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Loss , 28-6-1 , align=left,

, TD , 7 , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Loss , 28-5-1 , align=left, Chris John , UD , 12 , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , style="background:#abcdef;", Draw , 28-4-1 , align=left, Chris John , D , 12 , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 28-4 , align=left, Jorge Barrios , TKO , 11 , 2:55 , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Loss , 27-4 , align=left, Juan Manuel Marquez , UD , 12 , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Juarez, Rocky American boxers of Mexican descent Olympic boxers of the United States Boxers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Living people 1980 births American male boxers AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in boxing Featherweight boxers