Bautista-Medina to fight for WBO 122-pound mandatory spot
Golden Boy matchmaker Eric Gomez, announced the “Golden Undercard” today. Opening up the Oscar De La Hoya - Floyd Mayweather card on May 5, 2007 will be the newest addition to the Golden Boy team, Ricardo “Rocky” Juarez, 26-3 with 19 KOs, going against the very tough Jose Hernandez, 22-3 with 14 KOs. Juarez is best known for moving up to super featherweight to challenge world champion Marco Antonio Barrera. Their first fight ended in controversy, as it was declared a draw, then later changed to spit decision for Barrera due to a mix-up in adding the scores. In the rematch, Barrera won what amounted to a glorified sparring session. In his last bout, Juarez made impressive work of strong veteran Emanuel Lucero, stopping him in five. Hernandez's his last fight was an exciting one. Down on all scorecards, Hernandez rallied back to stop highly regarded - and until that point undefeated - Jason Litzau.
Juarez knows what he is up against and is preparing accordingly. “Hernandez trains hard and is always in good shape,” said Juarez. “His conditioning is great and this should be a tough fight.” The bout is being slated as a featherweight eliminator with the winner most likely getting a shot at world champion Chris John. When asked by Boxingtalk which of the champions around his weight he would like to fight, Juarez seemed confident and indifferent. “It doesn’t really matter to me. I will fight whoever the put in front of me. At this point it is likely to be Chris John, but it doesn’t matter.” When asked about a potential mega fight with Manny Pacquiao, Juarez said “I moved up in weight to fight Barrera, and if the offer was on the table I would do the same for a fight with Pacquiao. You know what they say, to be the best you’ve got to beat the best. I work hard, I train hard, and I fight hard. I would be willing to fight whoever it takes.”
The opening bout of the telecast will be a super bantamweight fight between Rey Bautista, 22-0 with 17 KOs, and Sergio Medina, 28-0 with 16 KOs. Bautista is rated number one by the WBO while Medina is ranked number two. This fight will serve as an eliminator and the winner with be official mandatory to WBO champion Daniel Ponce De Leon. “The World Awaits” will be broadcast live on HBO Pay-Per-View at 9pm ET.
Editor's Note: According to a Golden Boy Press Release, the non-televised bouts will include undefeated Australian native Billy Dib battling Jose Gonzalez of Los Angeles in a ten-round junior lightweight match-up as well as former Olympian Rock Allen and Ernest Johnson in separate eight-round bouts.
