Omar Juarez is not bothered by a loss or two on his record.
Juarez will step into the ring against Clarence Booth (21-9, 13 KOs) tonight as a part of "Wednesday Night Fights" on ProBox TV, live from the ProBox TV Events Center, in Plant City, Florida.
Juarez (14-2, 5 KOs) finds inspiration from Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao. Despite losing a majority decision to Rances Barthelemy, Juarez never lost faith in his dream of becoming a world champion.
It was a camp he invested a ton of money and time into, and it was hard, too, but he appreciated Pacquiao as a motivational force.
“I just look at the greats in the sport, they have had multiple losses,” Juarez told BoxingScene. “My career doesn’t compare to theirs. A loss isn’t really determining my future. After the first loss, that is when I came to that realization that all of these great [fighters] have had losses and still made their mark in the sport, and I still believe I can make a mark.
“Manny Pacquiao has always been a big inspiration for me. Everything he does for his people… very humble… and he has had a lot of great fights.”
Juarez isn’t your typical boxer. Instead of running to a modern Top 40 playlist, he does his roadwork with inspirational speeches playing in his ears. No wonder he went on to become a motivational speaker himself. His journey back to contender status is just another step on his way to inspire others.
“I started because I would listen to a lot of motivational speeches,” remembered Juarez who now motivates the youth in Brownsville, Texas. “I didn’t listen to music to get motivated or get hyped up. I would listen to Eric Thomas and Cus D’Amato, a lot of motivational speakers who inspired me. That inspired me to want to speak to the youth, to speak to the future Omar Juarezes out there.
Juarez also speaks at schools, often to youths dubbed as “high-risk." Juarez is a boxer, but he is also civically minded. An expression he hears too often is, "Oh, I am from Brownsville I can’t do that."
Juarez hopes to change that with his talks and through his accomplishments in the sport.
Yet despite being an accomplished professional, who has boxed on television, Juarez has not always been accepted by all in his community. Juarez comes from a hard-luck town on the U.S. border of the Rio Grande River. The city of Matamoros, Mexico, is on the other side. It is a working-class place and not an area a lot of celebrities emerge from. So losing a pro fight for Juarez was something the city he emerged from prepared him for.
“I got used to [negativity] since the amateurs,” said Juarez. “I always tried to make a name for myself in a positive way, of course. In my hometown, it is like that [filled with doubt about chasing a big dream]. I love my hometown, I love it to death. Regardless of the positive or negative comments, to me it is always positive comments. If they believe in me… awesome. If they don’t believe in me, that is extra motivation for when things get hard.”
Juarez looks to further his name and legacy on Wednesday night.