Watching the HBO fights tonight was quite entertaining. One fight stood out above the rest. The Juarez-Raheem match-up was a total exposure of 2000 Olympian Rocky Juarez, who appeared to be stuck in 2nd gear most of the fight.

I know Zahir Raheem personally; he came out of the '96 Olympics and was my nephew's  close friend. I even handled some of his business with his then promoter Top Rank. This fight would play out just as I thought it would, Raheem sticking and moving and Juarez stalking him throughout the fight. I had no idea, however, that the referee would become the biggest question mark in the outcome of the match.

The referee seemed to be obsessed with penalizing Raheem for something so common between two fighters with a little height disparity. The official took it to another level as he continued to make it so blatant and obvious that he was going to do all in his power to make sure the hometown hero would not be upset in front of his hometown fans. He constantly warned Raheem for something that wasn't really even a foul and later used his official power to control the destiny of the fight.

When Raheem boxed he looked great. I also applaud his corner for their work, they kept him in the fight even when it appeared as though he was looking for a way out. Fred Jenkins acted like he never heard one word Raheem said as he complained that his legs were gone and the weight loss was affecting his performance. Jenkins was truly a professional in the corner, as he continued to give the necessary instructions  for his fighter to emerge victorious, which he almost did, except he was fighting two opponents that night, Rocky Juarez and referee Robert Gonzalez. It's not that Raheem totally dominated Juarez but I certainly thought he did enough to win. Only if the referee hadn't tried to steal the show and put the spotlight on himself.

To aggravate the situation even further, Mr. Gonzalez wasn't even discreet about it...  When Raheem was getting the best of Juarez, Gonzalez stopped the fight to have the glove re-taped. Then when Juarez was doing good and coming on strong, Gonzalez  never intervened, not once, and anyone with eyes could see Juarez's tape clearly hanging from his gloves as well. Yet he let the entire round proceed without an attempt to call a halt in the action.

I think Juarez is a very good young prospect but his camp better keep him away from any slick boxers with good movement and a good jab or they better make sure the fight is either in Houston or give Gonzalez an encore performance. No referee should play such a big part in the outcome of a fight; this was a pretty good match other than for his constant interruptions. He appeared as though he was out to get Raheem. If Raheem  even looked like he was about to touch Juarez anywhere near his neck he would be penalized. It had to have some effect on the way the kid from Philadelphia fought his fight.

I like Juarez as a fighter and think he is going to do well and one day win a Championship -without the help of a local referee. I don't ever need to see referee Robert Gonzalez ever again. He made it quite obvious who's side he was on...

7-17-2004