MAKING MAMA PROUD

As a child, Omar Juarez admits to being close to his mother, Nancy, who, nevertheless, with her husband, Rudy Jr., chose pugilism to jump-start the transformation of her middle of three boys into manhood. 

“I didn’t really like sports. All I liked to do was be with my Mom. My older brother, Rudy III, was into boxing until Mom and Dad started me in it at the age of eight behind my older brother Rudy, who ended up later on spending most of his time in football,” said Omar, whose younger brother, Sebastian, now 15, has also entered boxing. 

As an amateur, Juarez “had 120 fights with 30 losses,” developing a reputation as a devastating body puncher and winning six national titles, including two each in the junior Olympics and Golden Gloves. 

But it wasn’t easy.

"My first 10 amateur fights I lost, left and right, getting knocked down. The sport was basically telling me to quit,” said Juarez. “But my father was a huge fan of boxing and it all started with me just trying to make my parents proud. It was hard. Like they say, boxing is the toughest and loneliest sport in the world.

“But it made me feel good when I saw it start to build character. I saw my life change completely in a positive way. I told myself, ‘I've just got to keep going. This is gonna take me somewhere. This is gonna help me be something in life and eventually I'll use this platform to help other people, motivate other athletes and give back.’”

TURNING PRO AND BEING AN INSPIRATION

An 18-year-old Juarez’s professional debut was a four-round unanimous decision at 140 ½ pounds over Matt Gavers in September 2018 two years after having graduated with a B-average from Homer Hanna High in his native Brownsville, Texas—and keeping his promise by speaking to youth in his community. 

"Growing up, what really motivated me was listening to motivational speakers,” Juarez recalled “I told myself, 'Wow, if just the power of words could change my life, maybe it could change other peoples' lives too.' I always told myself no matter how far I get in my career, I want to give back because growing up, not a lot of people believed in me.”

Juarez has spoken to close to 40,000 community members.  Juarez has received recognition from the Texas State Senate, Texas House of Representatives, the cities of Brownsville and San Benito and the Cameron County Commissioner’s Court for his work at schools in his community. 

Juarez has been invited to the office of United States Congressman Filemon Vela, accompanying her to migrant camps on the border. He also served as a spokesman to raise awareness for their plight. In February, Juarez was the guest of honor at the Tim Tebow Foundation’s “A Night to Shine,” a prom event for special needs children. 

“I get kids coming up and asking me things like, 'Hey man, I know exactly what you mean—I don't party, I don't do drugs,” said Jaurez. “As long as you believe in yourself and work hard, your dreams will become reality.” 

A QUICK STUDY

Juarez’s nickname, “Lightning,” is appropriate given his relatively swift ascension over the following year.  

“El Relampago” went 5-0 with four stoppage victories in 2019 comprising a second-round TKO of Phillip Percy (February), a four-round unanimous decision over DeWayne Bonds (April), consecutive first-round knockouts of Seifullah Jihad Wise (June) and Gino De la Paz (August), and a sixth-round stoppage of Kevin Shacks (November).

Bonds was a southpaw who entered at 3-1-1 (one KO), De la Paz was floored once, and Shacks, three times by Juarez, who improved to 6-0 with four KOs. For Shacks, Juarez spent part of his camp in his native Brownsville before going to San Antonio to finish sparring with WBA 140-pound champion Mario Barrios.

“I got really good sparring with a world champion and somebody I admire. I'm a big fan of Mario Barrios. He's an incredible fighter and I learned a lot from being in the ring with him. As I'm getting older, I can feel my body getting stronger.  I'm having a great training camp to say the least."

Jaurez also met Mexican legend and Hall of Fame former champion Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., who “gave me some tips and said he'll see me at the top” he said of “a big festival in Brownsville called Charro Days.”

“We ended up training a little bit together,” said Jaurez. “It was a surreal feeling.”Juarez overcame some confusion in advance of his last fight in February, a unanimous decision over tough journeyman Martin Angel Hernandez (19-19-1, 12 KOs), who carried deceptive power and had been in the ring with former champions Marcos Maidana, Lucas Matthysse, Mike Alvarado, title challenger Michael Farenas and contender Abel Ramos.

Juarez and his team had initially thought they were to face Mexico’s Angel Martinez Hernandez, who was 10-1 (10 KOs), which ended up not being the case. 

“There was a mix-up, and the guy we faced had fought Marcos Maidana and Lucas Matthysee, and it was definitely a big career win for me. It was a beautiful experience, especially fighting a veteran with over 30 fights, my first eight-rounder as well,” said Juarez, who floored Hernandez in the seventh round after discovering the truth about his rival at the pre-fight weigh-in.

“We had been watching film of the other guy until we found out, and then, we switched to studying the man we beat that night. He was a veteran fighter, using elbows, holding me, but I was able to overcome everything. There are levels to this, and I have a lot of work left to do, but I learned a lot. I’m still a prospect, but I’m gradually getting more comfortable. I’m only 20 years old, and I’m being patient, but it won’t be long before everyone in the boxing world knows who I am.”

On Saturday, August 8, 2020, Juarez returned to the ring versus Willie Shaw at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, live on FOX PBC Fight Night. 

The athletic—and tricky—Shaw landed several quick rights early on. It wasn’t enough to phase Juarez, who may be only 21 but fights with a poise beyond his years. 

Juarez (8-0, 4 KOs) landed the cleaner punches throughout, backing Shaw up and keeping him on the defensive to win a six-round unanimous decision. Final cards read 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56.

Still I Rise

On Saturday, August 8, 2020, Juarez returned to the ring versus Willie Shaw at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, live on FOX PBC Fight Night. 

The athletic—and tricky—Shaw landed several quick rights early on. It wasn’t enough to phase Juarez, who may be only 21 but fights with a poise beyond his years. 

Juarez (8-0, 4 KOs) landed the cleaner punches throughout, backing Shaw up and keeping him on the defensive to win a six-round unanimous decision. Final cards read 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56.

Juarez was back in the ring less than 30 days later, this time against Dakota Linger on September 6, 2020. This one was never in doubt as Juarez cruised to an eight-round unanimous decision win. 

Linger (12-4-2, 8 KOs), a two-time Toughman champion, was game but outgunned. He took most of Juarez’s shots well, although, in the sixth, a perfect left hook to his sides briefly knocked the wind out of him.

The 21-year-old Juarez (9-0, 4 KOs) finished strong to win by scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73.

“We knew that Linger would be a tough fighter, but we prepared for anything,” said Juarez. “I stay active and I’m always ready. It felt really good to get the eight rounds in. I showed that I’m a smart fighter. In my first couple of fights when I was getting early knockouts, I felt like I wasn’t really getting the work I needed. Tonight I felt really good and really strong. I’m ready for more.”

“We’re going to take a couple of days off and stay in the gym,” said Juarez. “I always want to be ready no matter what. I love having these opportunities and learning experiences in the ring.”

The Growth of a Fighter

Juarez closed out his 2020 with a first-round KO over Raul Chirino on December 26. Then on April 17, 2021, he won a 10-round unanimous decision over Elias Araujo.

Juarez's next fight, however, would be a major step up in class. On June 27, 2021, Juarez took on veteran All Rivera at Minneapolis Armory in Minnesota. In a classic back and forth, Juarez tasted canvas for the first time in his career as Rivera dropped him in the ninth. The knockdown would prove to be the difference in the fight's outcome. Juarez lost a majority decision by scores of 96-93, 95-94 and 95-95

“I honestly thought that I did enough to get the win," said Juarez. I did get knocked down. There was one round where I stayed in there and took a couple hits, but I felt like I was the smarter fighter in there. I adjusted well and I thought I did well over all. Almost all of the greats have losses and I know I’m going to be great one day. I just have to fight through this adversity.”

OVERCOMING ADVERSITY

An undeterred Juarez returned to the ring on September 19, 2021, to take on Jairo Lopez at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, California. Juarez controlled the action, winning an eight-round unanimous decision. 
 
Juarez pushed forward early and often, landing numerous big power shots the opening rounds, snapping Lopez's head back consistently. However, Lopez was able to withstand that early storm and worked hard to stay in the fight and offer return fire against his oncoming opponent.
 
In his first outing since his first career loss back in June, Juarez was the more accurate and effective puncher statistically, out landing his opponent 195 to 103 with a 35% to 22% advantage in accuracy.
 
Late in round five, Lopez finally cracked under Juarez’s potent attack, as a perfect right hand connected and sent Lopez down with less than a minute to go in the frame. Juarez stayed composed in the final rounds and continued to inflict punishment on his way to a unanimous decision by the score of 80-71 and 79-72 twice.

On February 5, 2022, Juárez won a hard-fought 10-round split decision over Ryan “Cowboy” Karl. Juarez controlled the early action, surviving a mid-fight surge from Karl (19-4, 12 KOs) to walk away with the victory. One judge scored the action 95-94 for Karl while the other two judges had Juarez winning by scores of 96-93 and 95-94.

On December 17, 2022, Juarez stepped up again and was victorious once more, winning a 10-round unanimous decision over Austin Dulay in Las Vegas. However, on May 13, 2023, he suffered an unpopular 10-round majority decision loss to Rances Barthelemy in Las Vegas. The scores were 95-95, 97-93 and 98-92 in favor of Barthelemy.

The crowd at The Chelsea rained down boos after the decision was read as many thought that Juarez had done enough to win the fight. The 23-year-old Juarez had his three-fight winning streak halted. “It is what it is,” he said. “I honestly thought I did enough to win, but all That’s left is keep working hard for next time. My one mistake was not staying on top of him. I should have been more aggressive.”