"Barby" Juárez throws a hook against addictions

Nestor Pinacho

The sound of the bell marked the beginning of the first round for Mariana "Barby" Juárez, this time not entering the ring but the facilities of the Centro de Estudios Científicos y Tecnológicos (CECyT) 14 "Luis Enrique Erro". Her fists wouldn't be her effective weapons; instead, she would have to use words; the opponent was, on this occasion, drug consumption.

The Flyweight and Welterweight champion visited CECyT 14 as part of the ongoing campaign at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional against substance use, to chat and share her experiences in the ring over more than 25 years of her professional career.

"There may be something we don't like, something that scares us; we have to take that fear and confront it," said the boxer with a record of 55 wins, 11 draws, and 4 losses, who confessed that her mother suffered from addictions, so she knows firsthand the damage that substance abuse can cause to people.

She, the eldest of five siblings, from a middle-class family, shared with the students that the desire to do something for her family, inspired by great boxers like Julio César Chávez, led her to boxing, a path where she had to face sexist prejudices and countless obstacles.

"Barby" Juárez highlighted the advantages of having an academic life alongside complementing it with sporting activity and the benefits that come with it to promote values such as effort, discipline, and persistence, which always bear fruit for those who practice them.

Embraced by the student community, which couldn't stop asking for photos and showing her admiration, this legend of women's boxing made the message clear, defeating her opponent by knockout: yes to sports and no to substance consumption.

There may be something we don't like, something that scares us; we have to take that fear and confront it.

Gaceta Politécnica #1783. (March 30th, 2024). IPN Imagen Institucional: Read the full magazine in Spanish here.