Celebrity Interviews

Rocky Juarez: 'It's a Matter of Who Wants It More'

On rematches: No, I haven't [had many rematches]—I've actually only had two—which, my first was against Marco Antonio Barrera, and now against Chris John. So I'm very fortunate. I would have to say that I'm blessed to have to rematch for them to give me the opportunity to fight for the World Title once again.

On "cooling down" during training: Well, in training, you have your good days and bad, your off days. I guess you have to tell yourself to stay in a positive mood and to continue to concentrate on your opponent, which, you know, you're only preparing yourself [for the fight] in the gym. It's all [about] getting your mind, as well as your body physically ready for combat.

On whether or not he has ever sacrificed technique during a fight: Well, at times you have to adapt. I mean a lot of fights you fight—you can practice one thing here in training, going over and over something that you feel is going to benefit you in the ring, but at times it all comes out when you're fighting in the ring. Sometimes, yeah, you have to go out there and sometimes it's a matter of who wants it more.

On his slow start against Chris John: Well, I thought that that actually started a little faster than normal—in the beginning of the fight. In the mid round after receiving a cut, I was more on the defensive side than the offensive, and I thought that that was the mistake I [had] made. The reason that I was on the defensive was that I didn't want to get the fight stopped due to the cut. I remember looking up in the corner and I saw the ring-card girl pass by in round 9, where I knew there [were] 3 or 4 rounds left to go.

On realizing the fight with Chris John had gone too far: When I'm in the ring, sometimes you're like, "Man, that's a really intense round." You know the fight's close and that's when you have to really dig down deep and tell yourself to go out there and take these next two or three rounds.

On reflecting upon where he went wrong during the fight with Chris John: I look at both—what I was doing [during the fight] and what he was doing. The first fight against Chris John nobody really knew too much [about] him. You know, it was his first fight here in the states, he was 42-0. Nobody knew much [about] him. You know, he had big wins over Juan Manuel Marquez, Derek gainer, and I was only able to see what I could see on video rather than seeing fights live, but we had to work with what we had and now that we've already fought him, I can see he's beatable. I thought that I could beat him when I was watching his tapes. I mean, he's a tough opponent.

On being a disciplined fighter: I definitely [want to win the title]. Having a world title is something that I've never had. I've won small titles. I've been the WBA Latino Champion, WBC and Continental's Champion. But I'm definitely chasing after those big belts, which is the idea of WBC, WBA and WBO. I wouldn't mind all four [titles], but I'd be happy with one right now! So going against Chris John, I know [his] being the world champ, being undefeated—he's definitely training hard and he doesn't want to give up the belts.

On when he arrives in L.A. prior to the fight: Yeah, I like to go at least five days before the fight—settle in, know where we're going to train—before weigh ins. The PR is something we have to do.

On his mohawk: My little boy inspired me to get it—he had it. He had it first and he said "Dad, why don't you get it?" And I was like, "You know what? I'm gonna get it. I'm gonna get the mohawk and go into the ring with a different attitude." [I'm] going into the ring with a different attitude and a different look.