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5'4" Mariana Anastasia Juárez was
born
on January 29, 1980 in Santa
Ursula, México. She
grew up in Coyoacan, a "colonia" in México City, with
two sisters and two brothers.
She made her professional
boxing debut at age 18 with a second-round KO over Virginia Esparza on
May 22 1998 in México City. (She has said she was paid all of $53 for
fighting this bout!)
On December 21, 1998 in San
Mateo Atenco, México, she was less fortunate, losing by a
third-round TKO to debut fighter María Durán.
On July 3, 1999 at La Arena
México in México City,
she faced Ana María Torres on a card that featured the first sanctioned
women's professional bouts to be held in México City. Torres won a
four-round split (39-37, 39-38, 37-39)
decision over Mariana in a 49-kg (jr. flyweight) bout, starting a
rivalry that would become one of the better ones in Mexican female
boxing.
Ana María Torres would often appear in Erik Morales' boxing shows and
considers Morales her mentor
and advisor, while Mariana Juárez is similarly mentored by Marco
Antonio Barrera. Laura
Serrano, México's best known female boxer and women's boxing
advocate, was on hand to celebrate the breakthrough event.
On July 31, 1999 in San Mateo
Atenco, Mariana avenged her loss to María Durán,
winning a four-round decision to even her own record at 2-2.
On August 21, 1999 at La Arena
México in México City, Mariana
(116 lbs) scored a TKO
over Gloria Ríos (113 lbs) of México City at 0:21 in the third round.
Rios fell to 1-1.
On September 15, 1999 at La
Arena México in México City,
Mariana (120 lbs) fought to a four-round draw with Ivonne Muñoz (119
lbs), who was making her pro debut. My correspondent told me "Mariana
lost the fight but it was a draw!"
On October 30, 1999 at La
Arena México in México City, México,
Mariana TKO'd Maribel Zamora in the third round of
a scheduled four-rounder. Zamora fell to 0-2.
On December 11, 1999 at La
Arena México in México City, she fought Ana
María Torres to a four-round
draw in a rematch of their fight on July 3. Torres moved her record to
2-0-1.
On January 29, 2000 in Salina
Cruz, México, Mariana won a four-round decision over Gloria Rios of
México City, dropping her to 1-2.
On October 21, 2000 at Salon
21 de Polanco in México City, México,
Mariana (113 lbs) won a four-round decision over Ivonne Muñoz (116
lbs).
Tired of fighting the same
opponents in México on infrequent low-budget shows Juárez took
the advice of her mentor Marco Antonio Barrera to
establish herself in the USA. An American TV
crew that saw her training with Rudy Perez in the gym in México City
suggested she go to Miami
to try out as a fashion model, but Mariana preferred to seek fame with
her fists. "I thought that among female boxers, with
my abilities and dedication, I will be one of the best,
God willing, and among models I would have been just one in a bunch",
she says.
She finally came to the USA to
further her boxing training with Ben Lira in
South El Monte, California. Lira
has trained several female fighters including 1998, 1999 and 2002 US
national amateur 106-lb champion Linda Carrillo. Lira
compares Mariana to Oscar De La Hoya:
"People love her because she can really fight and she has that
special thing. I can’t explain it. But she has it."
She made her US debut on May
11, 2001 at Quiet Cannon in Montebello, California,
moving her record to 5-1-1 (3 KO's) with a third-round
TKO of Sue Chase of Sandusky, Ohio. Chase, who was one of the most
persistent female fighters ever in a losing cause, fell to a remarkable
1-24-1. Juárez used a mix of uppercuts
and body shots to make Chase bend over in pain to get the
stoppage. Chase was retired by the California commission
after this loss.
On June 21, 2001 at Quiet
Cannon in Montebello, California, Mariana won by a TKO at 0:17 in the
fourth round over Jessica Treat of Los Angeles, who fell to 4-3 (1 KO).
Treat, a one-time protégé of Oscar de la Hoya, had problems with the
aggressive
style of Juárez in the first round but then appeared to be getting the
fight more under
control in the second and third. Juárez then erupted in the fourth with
a
barrage of head shots that sent Treat reeling to her corner with her
head
covered and her back to Juárez, bringing the TKO.
On April 10, 2002 Mariana
returned to Polanco, México and won by a first-round TKO over Miriam
Serrano. Serrano fell to 0-3, all by early TKO.
vs.
Ana María Torres for the Mexican Bantamweight belt
On June 26, 2002 at Salon 21
in Polanco, México,
2,000 fans saw
a ten-round showdown between Mariana and Ana
María Torres
of México City, México for the vacant Mexican Bantamweight title. In a
hard-fought bout Torres stayed unbeaten and advanced to
6-0-1 (3 KO)
with a close ten-round unanimous decision over Mariana.
Mariana has Elena Reid on the ropes in Phoenix
© Copyrighted photo taken by Dale Hausner
On June 28, 2003 at the
Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, Mariana (113½ lbs)
fought local favorite Elena "Baby
Doll" Reid (116 lbs) to a majority draw on a card televised
by Fox Sports Net. After a feeling out round in which Juárez
was
warned for holding Reid behind the head while hitting, Juárez began to
take the action to Reid harder in the second,
although Reid got busier as the round went on. Juárez kept coming
forward with Reid using more lateral movement in the
third, Reid looping her punches while Juárez more often came straight
through the middle. Juárez roughed Reid up against
the ropes in the fourth and appeared to have her in trouble but she
didn't press her advantage hard enough in the fifth.
Reid picked up her pace and was more aggressive in the sixth but Juárez
met her blow for blow (and did just enough to win
the fight in my view).
The judges' decision (57-57,57-57, and 58-56 Juárez) drew some boos
from the crowd, who had lustily cheered both fighters, both of whom
took hard shots throughout the fight and were dazed by the other's
blows at times.
Both boxers felt they had won
this fight. "I felt I beat her," said Reid. "I’d
love to fight
her again." For Juárez, the televised fight was a
stepping-stone to greater recognition in the USA. "Everywhere she
goes people say they saw that
fight," said Lira, "She gained a lot of exposure
from that fight."
In July 2003
Juárez was named WBAN's "Fighter of
the Month".
"We must have upset
her in her hometown, because she's been dreaming of a rematch to this
day, and
she's talked about a rematch," Juárez said to WBAN. "Well,
we beat her, but they gave us a draw
because we were in her turf, but now we've adjusted, and Ben and I work
together much better.
Now we think with one head, both in my corner and when I'm fighting, so
if we go to her hometown
they couldn't do that again, we would make sure there's no doubt."
On September
18, 2003 at Santa Ana Stadium, Santa
Ana, California, USA,
Mariana (116 lbs) won a four-round
unanimous (40-36,39-37,39-37) decision over unranked Lorri Aguilera
(114 lbs) of Lake Arrowhead, California.
Juárez is now 10-3-3 (6 KO) while Aguilera falls to
0-1-1 (0 KO). Aguilera was the recipient of accurate combinations from
the stylish Juárez
throughout the bout.
On October 7,
2003 at Pechanga Resort and Casino,
Temecula, California,
a crowd estimated at 1500 saw
Mariana win a five-round unanimous (48-45,48-45,49-45)
decision over unranked Yvonne Chavez of Albuquerque, New México. Juárez
controlled most of the action with
accurate punches and combinations including multiple straight rights
that snapped Chavez's head back. Chavez had plenty
of heart and tried to take the fight to Juárez, only to be met with
crisp counters by the patient and skillful Mexican.
Using stiff left jabs the México City native pummeled the New México
boxer, but she never gave up.
Both boxers went to the canvas during the bout, Juárez when she was
caught off-balance in the second round and Chavez in
the third round from a four-punch combination that ended with a clean
hard right. The crowd appreciated the action-
packed fight so much that promoter Dan Goossen gave both boxers a $250
bonus. "I didn't do what I wanted but I was
prepared for any kind of fight," said Juárez, adding that she
would like the rematch she had been promised with Elena
Reid.
Former kickboxing champion
Chavez dropped to 1-2-0 (1 KO) as
a pro boxer
[Fight
Report by Ralph Gonzalez].
On April 20,
2004 at Dodge Arena in Hildago, Texas
on a Golden Boy Promotions card shown on Telefutura,
Mariana (113½ lbs) TKO'd Yvonne Chavez (113½ lbs) in a rematch of their
October 2003 bout.
After a head-butt in the first round closed her
eye, Chavez was unable to see most of Juárez's punches and the fight
was stopped by her corner at 1:05 in the fourth round.
Juárez then tried to line up a fight with Mexican
Junior Flyweight
champion Delia Lopez, reportedly signing
a contract with the Mexican promoters only to have Lopez decline the
matchup. A second match with Korean bantamweight Kwang Ok Kim also fell
through. "They must have taken a look at her record,” Juárez's
trainer Ben Lira told
David Avila of MaxBoxing.com. A breakthrough finally came when the IFBA
named Mariana the #1 contender for its vacant Junior Bantamweight
title ... and sanctioned a title bout in Korea with former
IFBA Flyweight champion In-young Lee, who was making her return to the
ring after an eleven-month absence.
On November 14,
2004 in Yongin, South Korea,
Mariana won a ten-round split decision over local favorite In-young Lee to capture the IFBA
Junior Bantamweight title. Juárez dominated the early rounds with her
jabs, and switched to landing left hooks in the later rounds when Lee
became more aggressive in an attempt to rescue the decision.
Judge Suk Kwon Kim scored the fight 96-95 for Lee, while Judge Dong Ok
Lee scored it 96-95 and Judge Nam Chul Park 97-95 for Juárez. "We’d
heard that Lee is a tough girl and likes to use her strength,”
said trainer Lira, adding that “Mariana likes to fight girls
like that, it's her style.” Lee fell to 8-1 (3 KOs)
with the loss while Juárez improved her record to 13-3-3 (7 KO).
Mariana was
named WBAN's Boxer of the Month for
December 2004.
On February 25,
2005 at Las Trancas Banquet Hall in
Maywood, California, Mariana easily dispatched Carla (Shakurah) Witherspoon
of Philadelphia by a TKO at 1:41 in the second round. Witherspoon who
is well-known for fighting defensively opened the bout showing some
quick jabs and ring movement, but Juárez quickly forced her into a
toe-to-toe battle which she then dominated by walking past
Witherspoon's punches to score with stiff combinations to her head and
body.
"Our plan all along was to force the issue," said Mariana's
trainer Ben Lira, "Carla has too much experience to allow her
to do what she wants." Juárez improved her record to 14-3-3
(8 KO) while Witherspoon fell to 11-39-1 (4 KOs).
"I was
careful with her because I didn't
want to get a head butt when she was holding," said Juárez,
who is scheduled to defend her IFBA Junior Bantamweight belt in China
in March, 2005. "I know I have to defend my title so I didn't
want to get injured." She added that "I was so
happy to fight in front of my fans, it was a nice feeling."
On March 12,
2005 at the Marconi Museum of Exotic
Cars in Tustin, California, Mariana stepped in at the last moment to
fight an exhibition bout with NABC Ladies' Super Featherweight champion
Kristy Follmar
of Indianapolis, Indiana. Kristy had been expecting to fight
Lisa Lewis in this charity event, but Lewis weighed in seven pounds
over and Juárez agreed to be a last-minute substitute. Juárez
had been sparring eight rounds earlier in the day at Maywood Boxing
Club and was asked to be an alternate in case Lewis pulled out.
According to WBAN correspondent David Avila at ringside, "In the
first round Juárez and Follmar traded jabs
and matched wits with expertise rarely seen. Punch for punch, block for
block, the two title-holders exchanged cautiously unable to exploit
openings in the first round. In the next three rounds the tempo
increased with Follmar firing more combinations and moving in and out.
Juárez always pressed forward blocking with one hand then hitting back
with that same hand. Her right hand found the mark. Follmar used her
quick jab to score from the outside, then jumped in occasionally with
three punch combinations. Juárez picked off punches and countered to
the body or head, whatever was open."
“It was great to fight someone like her",
said Follmar, "it wasn’t like my other fights were girls just
come in brawling, she was fun to fight." Juárez
also complimented Follmar saying "she has good technique, her
hand speed was pretty good.” Juárez was scheduled
to defend her 115-pound title in China at the end of the month, and her
team said that the exhibition was good preparation for her. Because it
was an exhibition, the fight was not scored.
On March 30,
2005 at Sunrise International Ballroom
in Shenyang, China, Mariana lost the IFBA Junior Bantamweight title to
North Korea's Myong Ok Ryu by a tenth-round TKO. Ryu and Juárez did
battle for ten rounds with Ryu going to the canvas in the early going
but coming back to close the right eye of Juárez in the seventh. The
bout was stopped with just 30 seconds to go in the tenth, after Ryu had
caught Juárez against the ropes, but many reports said that the
stoppage, especially coming so late in the fight, was questionable.
Juárez fell to 14-4-3 (8 KO) with this loss while Ryu improved to a
claimed 6-0, of which I can verify a 2-0 (2 KO) record in fights
reported to WBAN).
Mariana was
sidelined by a shoulder injury after
this bout and her professional boxing future appeared to be in some
doubt until she returned to competition in 2007.
On
July 28, 2007 at Sky City Casino in Acoma, New Mexico,
Monica Lovato
(116 lbs) of Espanola, New Mexico, won a 10-round split (96-94,93-97,98-92) decision
over
Mariana (111 lbs) for the IBA world bantamweight title. According
to Chris Cozzone of NewMexicoBoxing.com, "Juárez
established an early lead in the first rounds. Lovato, usually a slow
starter, proved otherwise this time around, although a successful
counter-punching aggression did not fall into place until round three.
In the meantime, Juárez’s straight-forward aggression and heat-seeking
missile of a straight right hand found its mark enough times to warrant
the first two stanzas. Lovato had her figured out in the third,
however, and the fight turned into a series of heated exchanges of the
mauling, brawling variety. Lovato rough-handled Juárez, neutralizing
her right hand and matching the Mexican’s straight-forward movement, in
the third. In round four, the Espanola southpaw started to find a home
for her big left hands. The fifth was close, Juárez’s relentless
aggression an even match for Lovato’s rapid counter-punching
combinations that, more often than not, took place against the ropes.
... By round six, Lovato ... had control of the round and was
increasingly moving forward with aggression rather than wait to counter
Juárez, who was unable to land that right with the success she had in
the early rounds. Still aggressive, but somewhat neutralized, Juárez
lost both battles—the inside exchanges and mauling, plus the outside
jabbing with Lovato’s big left hands—to the Espanolan.
Juárez’s
frustration was evident in the eighth when she resorted to a
foul here and there, but the blazing exchanges started to turn the
fight back around. Lovato took a breather in the ninth while
Juárez loaded up on left hooks, taking the round, but in the final
chapter, despite a ruthless attempt to close the show, Lovato finished
strong, matching Juárez’s pressure with clean left hands and superior
footwork." Lovato improved her record to 11-1-0 (4 KOs).
On July 17,
2008 at Roots Magic Club in Lomas de
Sotelo, Distrito Federal, México, Mariana (110¼ lbs) won a tenth-round
TKO over Sandra Hernandez (110¼ lbs) of México for the vacant Mexican
Flyweight title. Hernandez fell to 2-3 (1 KO) with this loss.
On August 23,
2008 at El Foro in Tijuana, Baja
California, México, Mariana (110½ lbs) won a ten-round unanimous
decision over Diana Gonzalez (114¾ lbs). Gonzalez appears to
have been making her pro debut.
On September 27, 2008 at
Arena México
in México
City, Mariana
(111½ lbs) won a 10-round unanimous
(100-90,99-89,98-92) decision over British-born Suszannah
Warner (111 lbs) of
New York for the WBC International Flyweight title. The loss
dropped the 38-year-old Warner to 8-7-0 (2 KO's).
On November
29, 2008 at
Arena México
in México City, Mariana (110¼ lbs) won a 10-round (100-90,98-93,99-91)
unanimous decision over Esmeralda
Moreno (111 lbs) to
retain her WBC International Flyweight title. WBAN reported
that "Esmeralda
applied pressure throughout, but as round
succeeded round, Mariana’s greater experience and superior technique
became increasingly apparent. Through the precision of her jab and the
more powerful shots from her right hand, she kept a rein on her valiant
challenger, although the latter managed nonetheless to land a number of
hard blows to the champion’s face. In
the first four rounds, Moreno had some good moments, but from the fifth
onwards, Mariana reacted and punished her with hard punches of her own
to the face. Esmeralda tried to get back into the fight in the sixth,
but she proved incapable of deciphering the movements of the champion.
By the seventh, the loser was displaying tiredness and Mariana took
advantage. She won the eighth, penetrating Moreno’s guard with missiles
to the head. In the ninth, Esmeralda was nearing exhaustion and Juárez
piled in on her, looking for the defining blow. The champion finished
strongly in the final round to seal her eighteenth victory."
Moreno fell to 9-5 (3 KO's).
On March 28,
2009 at Deportivo Pino Suárez in
México City, Mariana
won a ten-round unanimous decision over
Anahi Torres who fell to 3-3 (0 KO's).
On June 5, 2009
at Palenque Calle 2 in Zapopan,
México, Mariana (111 lbs) won an eight-round unanimous
(80-73,78-74,77-75) decision over Irma Sanchez (110¾ lbs) of
Guadalajara, México for the interim WBC Flyweight title. According
to a local report, at the half-way point Juárez was winning all the
rounds according to two of the three judges: 39-37, 40-36 and 40-36,
and this forced Irma Sanchez to stand and trade and push harder, but
Juárez's experience showed as she landed punishing shots to her
younger opponent's face. The loss dropped Sanchez's record to
3-3-1 (4 KO's).
On July 25,
2009 at Avenida Revolucion in Tijuana,
México, Mariana (112 lbs) TKO'd Carolina Alvarez (111 lbs) of Venezuela
in the eighth round of a scheduled ten-rounder for the interim WBC
Flyweight title. Alvarez fell to 9-3-1 (4 KO's) with the loss.
On September 12, 2009
in Ensenada, México, Mariana TKO'd Susana Vazquez of Toluca,
México at 1:00 in the seventh round of a ten-rounder for the interim
WBC Flyweight title. Vazquez fell to 4-4-1 (2 KO's) with this
loss.
On
December 12,
2009 at Gimnasio INDEJ in Tepic,
Nayarit, México, Mariana (112 lbs) won a ten-round unanimous
decision over Anahi Torres (109¼ lbs) of México for the interim WBC
Flyweight title. Torres fell to 3-5 (0 KO's).
On
March 8, 2010 at Auditorio
Ernesto Rufo in Rosarito, Baja California, México, Mariana won
a
ten-round unanimous (100-90,100-90,99-93) decision over Abigail Billar
of Panama for the interim WBC Flyweight title. Billar, who was
a late replacement for Paulina Cardona as Juárez's opponent,
fell to 3-4-2 (1 KO).
On
May 22 2010 at Auditorio
Plaza Condesa in México City, Mariana (114¾ lbs) won a ten-round
split decision over Susana Vazquez (114½ lbs) of Toluca, México in a
rematch of their September 2009 fight. The loss dropped
Vazquez to a 4-5-1 (2 KO') record.
On August 14 2010 at Auditorio
Luis Estrada Medina, Guasave, México, Mariana (114¼ lbs) knocked
out Diana Gonzalez (114 lbs) of Toluca, México at 2:35 in the fifth
round of a scheduled ten-rounder for the vacant WBC Junior Bantamweight
title. Gonzalez fell to 5-3 (1 KO) with the loss.
On
November 20, 2010 at Arena Monterrey in Monterrey, México
Mariana Juárez won by a KO in the eighth round over Maribel Ramirez of
Distrito Federal, México for the WBC Interim Flyweight title.
Ramirez fell to 4-2-1 (2 KO's) with the loss.
On
March 11, 2011 at the Jose Cuervo Salon in
Polanco, Distrito Federal, México, Mariana Juárez
(111¾ lbs) won a hard fought ten round unanimous (97-93,97-93,96-94)
decision over undefeated Simona
Galassi (5'5", 111 lbs) of Santa Maria Nuova, Italy for
the WBC Flyweight title previously held by Galassi. Juárez
(at left in photo) overcame a shaky start to find her range and
decipher Galassi's style in the later rounds, which were fought toe to
toe with Galassi bleeding from her nose. Galassi appeared to
have won the early rounds with her rapier-like
right and solid followups with her left but the action became more even
when Juarez became more aggressive and was able to mix it
up at
tighter range. Juarez was knocked off balance by Galassi's
forearm and
went to the canvas at the end of the fourth but the referee ruled the
stumble a slip. The
38-year-old Galassi
fell to 14-1-1 (3 KO's). WBC head José
Sulaimán had described this bout as the "most important fight in women's boxing
in the world".
Mariana
Juárez was named WBAN' s "Fighter of the Month" in
April 2011
for her win over Galassi (the third time she has won the award).
On May 21 2011
at Centro de
Espectáculos in
Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico, Mariana Juárez
defended her WBC Flyweight title against undefeated but
relatively
inexperienced Gabriela Bouvier from Maldonado, Uruguay. Bouvier began
the fight aggressively and fought hard but she was worn down by
Juarez's more ccurate punching and superior skills. Pepe
Rodriguez wrote:
"Mariana
took control of the fight from the first round, as cries of 'Mexico,
Mexico' echoed in the building. Near the end of the seventh
round as Bouvier received a real beating, the referee ended the fight,
crowning Juarez the winner by TKO." Gabriela Bouvier vigorously
protested the stoppage but she had been rocked repeatedly in the later
rounds as she fell to 6-1-1
(1 KO).
On August 28,
2011 at Plaza de Toros in
Tlaxcala, Mexico, Mariana (112 lbs) defended her WBC Flyweight title
with a clear 10-round unanimous (100-86,100-90,100-89)
decision over Asami Shikasho (112 lbs) of Tokyo, Japan. Shikasho had said in a pre-fight
interview: "Fights
between Mexican and Japanese fighters have always been exciting and
this one is no different. I’ve boxed for more than 100 rounds with
sparring for this fight. These fights are to the death".
However, Gabriel Cordero reported
that "Juárez
was simply faster and
sharper as she punished the very game Shikasho in every round."
Shikasho fell to 5-3 (3 KO's).
On October
15, 2011 at Gimnasio Revolución in Calpulálpan, Tlaxcala,
Mexico,
Mariana Juarez (111½ lbs) successfully defended her
WBC
Flyweight title when she stopped Gabriela Bouvier (111½
lbs) of
Maldonado, Uruguay at 1:12 in the fourth round of a scheduled
ten-rounder Bouvier again fought fiercely but she lacked the
defensive skills to contend with Juarez's more accurate punching and
infighting skills. Bouvier was knocked to the canvas in the
fourth
round before the fight was stopped after she took repeated shots to the
head while trapped in a corner. Bouvier fell to 7-2-1 (1 KO) with the
loss.
On
December 10, 2011 in the Main Event at the
Gran Tlachco theater in Xcaret, Mexico, Mariana Juarez won a
hard-fought but clear (100-90,99-91,100-90) ten-round
unanimous decision over Diana Gonzalez Sanchez of Toluca, Mexico
defending the
WBC Flyweight title. Juarez won the more technical exchanges using her
jab to set up hard left and right hooks but Gonzalez fought hard
and caught Juarez with some solid punches. Gonzalez
fell to
5-4 (1 KO) while Juarez improved to 32-5-3 (15 KO's) with her second
win over Gonzalez.
Mariana
was named "Female Champion of the Year" for 2011 by the WBC at
its at
its convention held at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Resort in
Las Vegas, Nevada in December. WBAN also named
her its "Most Accomplished Boxer" for 2011. In January 2012 she opened s
gym in Santa
Ursula Coapa, Mexico City at which she will give free boxing lessons to
children with good grades.
On February 25
2012 at Arena Mexico
in Mexico City, Mexico, Anastasia Toktaulova
of Russia lost by a fourth-round TKO to Mariana
Juarez who was defending her WBC Flyweight title. The early rounds saw
a
brawling style of fight with Juarez appearing to land the more telling
combinations at close quarters. Toktaulova suffered a wrist injury in
the fourth round and was unable to come out for the fifth. Toktaulova fell to
14-11 (2 KO's) with the loss.
On May 12, 2012
at the Hotel
Presidente Intercontinental in Polanco, Distrito Federal, Mexico,
Mariana Juarez (112 lbs) won an exceptionally hard-fought
ten-round split
(96-91,94-95,98-90) decision over Arely
Muciño (111 lbs) of Monterrey, Mexico defending the WBC
Flyweight title. Juarez put Muciño on the canvas
twice in the second round and Muciño
looked unsteady and in trouble when she was saved by the bell at the
end of that round. The fight was by no means over, however, and
the aggressive and busy Muciño battled her way back
into it and got the
upper hand at times in the later rounds. Juarez used
her ring experience to keep her cool as she moved well and
used
accurate counter-punching to escape with the split decision
from
a battle that was closer than suggested by (two of)
the judges'
scorecards. Muciño fell to 15-2-1 (8 KO's).
On
July 14, 2012 at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario,
California, USA, Mariana Juarez (112 lbs) defended the WBC Flyweight
title with a hard-fought split (96-94,96-94,93-97) decision over Shindo
Go (111½ lbs) of Wayakama, Japan. Francisco Salazar reported for
FightNews.com: "There
were close rounds in the fight, as the taller Go tried to use her reach
to land her punches in the early rounds. Both fighters began to throw
punches aggressively in the third round, trading hooks and crosses to
the head. Go was quicker to the punch in the middle rounds, scoring
with counter right hands to the head in the middle rounds. However,
Juarez would attack the body with left hooks. Both fighters had their
moments in the seventh round, as both connected with hard counter right
hands to the head. After Go controlled the eighth round, Juarez came on
in the ninth round, pressing the action and attempting to land to the
body. Both fighters dug deep in the final round. Go pressed forward and
scored with right hands to the head, but Juarez countered well to the
body and head with the more-telling blows." Mariana
Juarez advanced to 35-5-3 (16 KO's) as Shindo Go dropped to
10-2 (8 KO's).
On October 13, 2012 at the Palacio
de los Deportes
in Mexico City, Ava Knight
(111 lbs) of Chico, California won the WBC Diamond Flyweight
title with a ten-round unanimous (97-93,96-94,97-93) decision over
Mariana Juarez (112 lbs). Knight was the early aggressor, using
her jab well to keep Juarez on defense and landing the more accurate
punches. Juarez, who had predicted that Knight could not perform well
in the later rounds at the famously high altitude of Mexico City, found
herself playing catchup when the open scoring showed that she had
fallen behind 58-56 after six rounds. Knight did not slow much in
the later going as the hard fought fight became more of a
toe-to-toe battle, and Juarez could
not erase her deficit on the
scorecards. Neither boxer was in serious difficulty at any time.
Knight improved to 10-1-3 (5 KO's) while Juarez slipped to
35-6-3 (16
KO's).
On December 15 2012 at Palacio de Deporte
in Mexico City, Mariana (115 lbs) won a ten-round unanimous
(100-90,100-90, 99-91) decision over Manami Arima
(115 lbs) of Tokyo, Japan in a non-title bout. Arima (also known as
Tenkai Tsunami) fell to 18-6 (7
KO's) with the loss.
On April 27 2013 at Arena Mexico in Mexico
City, Mexico, Mariana (114 lbs) was knocked down and TKO'd at 1:58 in
the first round against Riyo Togo (112¾ lbs) of
Japan for the vacant WBC International Juniuor Bantamweight title. Togo
caught Juarez with a well timed left near the end of a hard fought
opening round and the referee waved the fight off when Juarez got up
looking wobbly. Togo improved to 10-4-1 (9 KO's) with the win while
Juarez fell to 36-7 (16 KO's).
On July 13 2013 at Centro de Convenciones
in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, Juarez avenged this loss and won the WBC
International Junior Bantamweight title with a ten-round unanimous
(98-92, 97-93, 98-93) decision over Riyo Togo. Juarez improved to 37-7
(16 KO's) while Togo fell to 10-5-1 (9 KO's).
On October 12 2013 at the Hard Rock Hotel
in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, Mariana Juarez (114½ lbs) defended
the WBC International Junior Bantamweight title with a ten-round
unanimous decision over Nimaphon Musika (113¼ lbs), a.k.a. Buakaew
OnesongchaiGym
of Trang, Thailand, who fell to 6-2-1 (0 KO's) with the loss.
On February 22, 2014, at Gimnasio
Miguel Hidalgo in Puebla, Mexico, Juarez (114¾ lbs) won a hard
fought ten-round unanimous (96-94 x 3) decision over Melissa
McMorrow (112¼ lbs) of San Francisco, California defending the WBC
International Junior Bantamweight title. McMorrow fell to 9-4-3
(1 KO)
while Juarez improved to 39-7-3 (16 KO's).
On February 17, 2018 - Arena Coliseo, Mexico
City, DF, Mexico, Juarez, 118, won a ten-round unanimous decision over
Gabriela Bouvier. The two were fighting for the WBC Bantamweight
title. Full fight video:
Link
Photo credits: WBC Images/Juan Carlos Manzano
On April 28, 2018 - La Feria, Puebla,
Mexico,
at Miguel Hidalgo Gymnasium in Puebla, Mexico,
bantamweight Juarez, 117¾, of Mexico City, Mexico, won a ten-round
unanimous decision over Carolina Arias, 118, from Escazu, Costa Rica. The
two were fighting for the WBC Bantamweight title. Juarez retained her WBC
world title belt for the fourth time defending her title. The boxing event
was promoted by Promociones del Pueblo with the support of Cavall Sport and
Playboy México,
televised on Televisa Deportes.
Full
Story
Full
Fight Video
On August 11, 2018 - Arena Ciudad de Mexico,
Distrito Federal, Mexico City, Mexico, Juarez, 118, won a ten-round unanimous decision over Terumi Nuki, 117. The two were fighting for the WBC Bantamweight world title. Final
judges scores were 98-91, 98-91, and 97-92.
Link
to Full Video of Juarez vs Nuki. In a second female bout super
bantamweight Jackie Nava, 120.5, won by a seventh round RTD over Alys
Sanchez, 120.5. The bout was scheduled for ten rounds.
Link
to Full Video of Nava vs Sanchez
Photo credit: Facebook/Juarez and Nuki
On October 27, 2018 - Auditorio Miguel
Barragan, San Luis Potosi, San Luis Potosí, Mexico, Mariana Juarez
won a ten-round unanimous decision over Susie Ramadan. The two were
fighting for the WBC Bantamweight Title
"She’ s
a very good fighter,"
said Mia
St. John, who often spars with Juárez although she's about 20
lbs heavier than Mariana. "We have good sparring together.
She’s very tough."
Juárez
trains hard and fights hard, always busily
on the attack with a bob and weave style that has been more effective
in each fight. Still, she says she is trying to learn a
different style of fighting to please
US audiences. "People in México like (to see me) going toe to
toe, moving forward," says Juárez, "(but) here it's
been the opposite. They've seen my boxing style and tell me they like
it better, they like to see
more boxing."
"Boxing
is the most important thing for
me, I love the feel of the gloves, the adrenaline rush, it is
indescribable, and I want to stay in boxing",
says Juárez.
Other
Mariana Juárez links
Page
last updated: Wednesday, April 16 2014
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