I caught the first Marco Antonio Barrera-Rocky Juarez sizzling standoff over HBO - and no argument here it was a classic pairing.

Saw the front side for Barrera, as the future hall of famer opted for the stick and counter approach with good success - still, a disciplined Juarez had moments of his own while wobbling the champ with a left hook in stanza three.

Then the turn, and after a strong Barrera round seven the Juarez pressure began slowing the age 32 veteran of some 65 kept appointments - and no surprise after furious exchanges over the championship rounds of 10-11-12 it would be a tough one to score.

Official tallies went Barrera 115-113, Juarez 115-113, and 114-114 - no argument here that a standoff made for this return.

However, the post scripts pretty much sums up the rest of the story - yes, Barrera has retained clout, valor and solid text-book boxing skills. That’s the good news. Flip the coin, and it is not hard to notice a pro boxing version of AARP membership knocking at the door.

With young 26 Juarez, a different story - took advantage of the big HBO stage - showed a rock solid chin, stamina, heart, endurance along with good punching power. A bauble awaiting in the wings.

But a PPV for this one? I think not.

Unless the today uninitiated is as slow as they seem, I suggest they think before again jumping into an empty pool. Fact is we all routinely go PPV - whether it’s ESPN, Showtime Cable, or the king of cable boxing HBO, they don’t come free.

Personally, my monthly tab for the package is 82 smackers - I can live with it - but not uno centavo more.

Final expectations on this one is a pretty good battle - the guess is Juarez, a young one that performs like a skilled veteran. Barrera, the ultimate pro should make it entertaining, but likely come up short on this office visit.  

GEL  -

9-10-06