By Ed Ludwig

13.04 - There was no surprise tonight from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada as the universally recognized Featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera (57-3 40 KO's) easily disposed of a very faded Kevin Kelley (54-6-2 36 KO's) with a fourth round TKO. Barrera dropped Kelley in the first round with a solid right left combination.

When Kelley rose to his feet Barrera followed up with a hard left hook to the head that sent him reeling back although he did not go down. The second round saw Barrera pushing forward and picking his shots. It was quite apparent that he was not concerned with Kelley's punching power or lack of it.

Kelley tried changing his style by going orthodox and that had no effect so he went back to his southpaw style. Barrera closed out the round with a strong flurry of punches. Between rounds Kelley's corner told him to relax and do what he does best. For an inactive and aging fighter it was obvious that he did not have the tools to keep Barrera off of him.

In the opening minute of the third Barrera landed a double left hook to the body and head that sent Kelley reeling back and as the round wore on Barrera continued to pick up the momentum. Barrera worked the head and body well throughout the round. Kelly's right eye started to swell from the powerful jabs he was absorbing early on. The body shots were taking its toll on the former champion.

At the end of the round Kelley was frustrated as he was taking many shots and unable to land any of his own. Thirty eight seconds into the fourth round Barrera dropped Kelley for the second time in the fight with a combination of body shots. Once Kelley rose to his feet Barrera continued to stalk him and dropped him once again. The frustration was showing and the end was near. Seconds later Barrera opened up with a wide array of shots that sent Kelley into the ropes and referee Robert Byrd intervened and put a merciful stoppage to this very one sided fight.

As I stated on the Friday Night Fights Boxing Show with Russ Anber on the Team 990 am last night, this fight should not have taken place. After Oscar Larios opted for a defence of his title in Japan instead of meeting Barrera I felt a more suitable opponent could be found instead of an aging Kevin Kelley.

Nonetheless Barrera did what we all expected and hopefully this sends a message to Kelley that his career has reached the ten count and he should return to his position as a commentator. Barrera said in his post fight interview that he is going to leave it up to HBO and see whom they will find as his next opponent.

In the year of upsets thus far lets hope it's not another mismatch. Jay Larkin saw the light and pulled Gabriel Ruelas out of the Acelino Freitas fight. Ruelas opted for unknown Courtney Butler and was knocked out. Next month we will suffer through another stinker with Oscar De La Hoya vs. Yory Boy Campas on Pay Per View. If the sport wants to increase it's fan base then it's time to show these fights on basic cable and not rip off the boxing fans by gauging us of our hard earned money with meaningless fights.

Questions Or Comments: ed.ludwig@eastsideboxing.com