by James Slater – I must confess to not knowing how well the tickets are shifting for the upcoming April 3rd rematch bout between old rivals Roy Jones Junior and Bernard Hopkins, but if the tickets sales have been lukewarm up until now, fans may feel more inclined to buy this card if they take a look at the scheduled under-card for the April gig at The Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas..
Not exactly a sensational set of supporting bouts (are any under-cards all that great these days?), the co-features are nevertheless somewhat interesting. Former WBC light-middleweight champ Sergio Mora will return as a middleweight, against a TBA, in what will be his first fight since losing his return bout with the late Vernon Forrest, super-middleweight James “Buddy” McGirt Junior will also be in action, also against a TBA; while the hugely talented light-welterweight that is Frankie Gomez will box his pro debut on the bill.
Best of all, though, is the scheduled fight (according to BoxRec) between super-featherweight contenders Rocky Juarez and Jason Litzau. Scheduled for ten-rounds, this fight could well be the fight of the night.
29-year-old Juarez, 28-5-1(20), a former six-time (!) world title challenger, is coming in off those two 12-rounders with the excellent Chris John – fight-one being scored a draw, the return going to the defending WBA 126-pound ruler via UD. Never once stopped in his now nine-year pro career, the Texan will be looking to get an impressive win over the exciting-to-watch Litzau, in the hope that doing so will lead to yet another crack at a major belt.
The younger man at age 26, “The American Boy” is 26-2(21) as a pro and Litzau will be entering the scheduled bout coming off three straight wins; including a good NABF 130-pound title fight win over Johnnie Edwards back in November. Stopped both times in his two losses – by Jose Andres Hernandez in Dec. 2006 and by Robert Guerrero in an IBF featherweight title challenger in early 2008; both defeats coming in the 8th-round – Litzau went down fighting both times.
A fighter who enjoys an all-action affair, Litzau will surely feel his has the youth and the aggression to take out Juarez. But the man from Texas is one durable hombre – as greats like Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez found out. Still, Litzau is the definite puncher in this fight; and he is also the taller man with the longer reach. The edge in world class experience goes of course to Juarez, however, and it’s a pretty big edge at that.
A hugely important fight for both men, both guys can be expected to give it their all. Though it wouldn’t surprise me if Litzau won this one (Juarez has, after all, had a lot of big chances already and he may be a fair way past his best by now), I have to pick the man who came so desperately close to beating the legendary Barrera in the first fight Juarez had with the Mexican in 2006.
I go for Juarez on points in what could be a very good fight to watch.