Possible Comebacks in 2011: Linares, Salgado, Juarez

By Francisco Hernandez: Jorge Linares has a record of 30 wins and one loss. Before his lone loss, Linares was considered one of the top pound for pound fighters in boxing. The sage Don Chargin recently stated that Jorge Linares because of his excellent boxing skills continues to be the top pound for pound fighter in his opinion. There is something wrong with boxing when it relegates a fighter to oblivion because he loses a fight. That is why so many boxers today are afraid of losing and like Pacquiao end up picking and choosing straw opponents.

Yet whether the reader agrees or disagrees with the “Sage,” the fact remains that Linares continues to be a good fighter. Linares is not without his problems though; in the first place he is a member of the starvation club (Donaire, Chavez Junior, and Celestino Caballero) whose legs look like toothpicks. Linares would probably do a lot better if he continues fighting in the lightweight division, because he will have more energy and can build up his legs more. If he returns to Junior Lightweight he is risking another brutal knockout like the one that Juan Carlos Salgado gave Linares in his only loss. In the lightweight division Linares will have tougher opponents; it is full of risk, but also the chance to standout. Otherwise Jorge Linares will the run the sad fate of being the great that could have been and never was. After another fight to adjust to the lightweight division Linares needs to challenge a quality opponent in 2011 or call it quits.

Juan Carlos Salgado is also another fighter who should be making a comeback. Salgado gave Linares his first loss and it was a brutal knockout at the end of 2009. Salgado was forced to fight almost two months later, and lost the fight in a twelve round TKO. Salgado came into that fight with very little training and totally out of shape; the whole thing was a typical setup in Japan for Salgado to lose that fight. Salgado with 22 wins and 1 loss should be making a comeback in 2011. Like Linares, Salgado needs to move up to the Lightweight division where the great matchups are, he is five foot nine inches and should be fighting in that division, in his last fight he weighed 140 pounds and won by TKO in 4 rounds. Salgado would make a good match against any of the top lightweights.

2011 might be the last chance for Rocky Juarez to make a comeback. He has lost only to quality opposition and his move to the super featherweight and lightweight division was a bad decision in 2010, he conceded too many advantages at a higher weight. If Rocky Juarez can return to the featherweight division he can still make good matches against opponents like Juan Manuel Lopez, Rafael Marquez, and Yuriorkis Gamboa. A fight between Rocky Juarez and Juan Manuel Lopez would be a classic. Rocky is at his best when duking it out with brawlers like Lopez. For Rocky Juarez 2011 may be his last chance to be part of a big fight. If he cannot make the featherweight division he should retire in 2011.

These are just three of the fighters who this writer thinks could have another chance in 2011. Which fighters do the fans think will make a comeback and which should or will fade into history? Let us know.

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