By Joseph Herron – Every young fighter dreams of one day becoming a world champion once they lace up the gloves for the first time.
But the commitment, discipline, sacrifice, and pain that every prizefighter is forced to endure is enough to turn even the most ardent of athletes away from the ring. Despite recognizing the various obstacles on the pathway to glory, every fighter indeed has a vision; and until they accomplish their ultimate goal, most of these brave warriors will continue to place themselves in harm’s way for our entertainment.
2000 American Olympic Silver Medalist Ricardo “Rocky” Juarez (28-10-1, 20 KOs) still possesses this dream; and it still burns feverishly within him just as the first day he began boxing.
“My goal in this business has always been to be a world champion. I feel like I’ve been right there on the borderline. I’ve come so close and have been in a lot of great championship type fights. I know I have what it takes to do it. It just hasn’t officially happened for me.”
The Rock has certainly come unnervingly close to grabbing championship hardware throughout his storied fight career.
After beginning his professional career with a perfect 23-0 record, the hard punching Houston, Texas native was in line to face the WBC Featherweight Champion In-Jin Chi of South Korea in August of 2005. In what was billed as a possible “Fight of the Year” candidate, the highly anticipated match-up was slated to air on HBO as the co-main event of the Fernando Vargas/Javier Castillejo spectacle.
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