by Jeremy "Fasttalker" Bjornberg - 08/22/2005
Boxing fans in Chicago were treated to a much better night of fights than the previous week. Undefeated 126-pound prospect Rocky Juarez started off the televised card on Saturday against Humberto Soto. Soto (37-5, 21 KO) was brought in a few weeks ago to replace Injin Chi and was obviously overlooked by Rocky's promoter, Main Events.
Apparently Main Events chose to overlook the fact that the tough Mexican was a natural 130-pounder and was coming in on a three year winning streak. From the outset Juarez was outworked and out landed by Soto. Humberto showed a great chin in taking the best that Juarez had to offer. Juarez was simply outworked and out landed by a highly experienced Mexican technician. As good as Soto looks I think this was probably his pinnacle. Juarez seemed to be taking over late in the fight I am sure the young fighter learned a valuable lesson.
The main event pitted Fernando Vargas and Javier Castillejo in a battle at 154. Doc's once again was right on the MONEY. Doc's not only predicted Vargas to win, but we picked him to win by decision. Doc's is on a roll now, winning on seven straight boxing picks, finding underdog value in four of those seven wins. Fernando Vargas was hoping to regain his status as an elite fighter by blowing away the longtime Spanish contender. Vargas was seemingly in control early and even dropped Castillejo, but Vargas didn't seem to display the kind of finishing skills that he had in the past. Fernando Vargas is not a great puncher, but in the past he would use his aggressive boxing skills to hurt fighters, and then calmly finish them. One of the problems seems to be confidence and the loss of speed.
Fernando Vargas was able to win a one-sided decision against a capable opponent, but he did not seem to have that superstar quality. There are rumors of Vargas re-matching none other than Oscar De La Hoya and the money that is available could make that possible. Vargas also had a swollen and probably broken jaw that could lead to some time off. At this point in time, the last thing Fernando Vargas needs is time off. Vargas needs to stay active and fight bimonthly to restore himself to the best possible position. The performance was solid, but Vargas needed to be sensational to put himself back into the top echelon of 154.
The coming week offers a few fights to keep the boxing public busy. Potential superstar Joan Guzman will face Terdsak Jandeang in a foray into the 126-pound class for Guzman. Guzman is called little Mike Tyson and for good reason. Joan has loads of power in both hands and also has quick feet and a solid chin. Not much is known about Terdsak. The fight will be shown on Aug. 26 on the Telefutura network. Showtime is also having a guaranteed to be boring Pay Per View on Friday. I have no clue why Showtime felt the need to make this night of Heavyweight waste a PPV. Ray Mercer battles against Shannon Briggs in the main event. Both shot heavyweights were recently seen embarrassing themselves and all of boxing in K1 competitions. David Tua backed out so the co-main event will be lazy cruiserweight O'neil Bell against Sebastian Rothmann. Jameel McCline will also fight journeyman Steve Panell in a fight sure to do nothing for McCline's declining career. Because of the lack of talent and youth, Doc's will not be making picks for any of these fights and I also see no reason to buy this PPV unless you are a truly hardcore fan.
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