John survives late rally to retain title
Rocky Juarez waited an extra three months for another shot at Chris John and the WBA featherweight title after John dropped out of their scheduled June bout. If only Juarez could have found another minute or two in their fight Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, he might have walked out a champion.
Juarez's frenzied onslaught in the final 35 seconds staggered but never knocked down John, sending the match to the judges, who went unanimously for John to retain his title, though by wildly different margins. Judges had John as the winner. Glen Hamada scored it 114-113, Herb Santos had it 117-111, and Adalaide Byrd saw it 119-109. Byrd gave all but the final round to John, while Hamada gave seven rounds to John and five to Juarez.
Juarez falls to 29-5-1, while John remains undefeated in his professional career at 43-0-2. One of those draws came against Juarez in February in a matchup many thought John handily won. The originally scheduled rematch in June fell through when John stepped out with a blood disorder.
"I didn't get hit as much as I did in the first fight. I landed my jab." Juarez said
After boxing conservatively and trying to find a way out of the constant clutches of John throughout the bulk of the 12-round match, Juarez finished with the frenzy of a fighter who knew the judges might not go his way. He delivered a series of punches in close on John in the final minute, succeeding where he'd failed for most of the bout as John held and danced his way out of trouble.
Juarez sent John partially through the ropes with a strong combination at the 20-second mark before nearly taking John off his feet with 10 seconds left. Saved by the bell, John knew the fight ended at just the right time for him.
"It was a very tough fight. In the last round, I was hurt. My left eye was really swelling up but I kept on fighting for my idol, Arturo Gatti. That's what kept me going." Said a jubilant John
Juarez tried to find an opening with his left jab throughout the fight but never landed anything of substance until a strong left cross at 1:05 of the 11th round. Juarez connected on just 45 of his 270 jabs (17 percent) and only 119 of his 598 punches in all (20 percent.)
John threw 355 more punches in the fight, marking his aggressiveness through the early rounds and his tough counterpunching as Juarez began to take more chances in the middle rounds. It didn't feel like John threw more punches, though, as he spent long stretches in the arms of Juarez as he pulled the Texan in tight any time he sensed trouble as Juarez approached.