Boxing
Barrera lucky to gain revenge in rematch

By Murali Para

23.06 - I do not think I am alone in saying that the Barrera-Morales II fight in Las Vegas was somewhat underwhelming. Billed as "For Pride and Honour", it was proclaimed as the biggest featherweight contest ever in terms of its gate of some 15,000. It was almost inevitable though that it could not live up to the standards of the first encounter between these Mexican warriors, a fight that ranks with Ward-Gatti and Trinidad-Vargas as one of the finest of the past few years.

Rather than being an all-out war, this fight was more tactical and cagey. From the outset, Morales tried to maximise his height and reach advantage, lunging from a distance with big right hands. Barrera meanwhile was, deliberately it seemed, fighting on the backfoot, parrying shots with his left glove and connecting with some excellent short shots when in close. But in any case, there was very little in it in these early exchanges.

The pattern finally began to change from Round 5 onwards. The tempo was raised and several minor incidents peppered the general action. Morales seemed to hear the bell prematurely at the end of two separate rounds, but Barrera could not use his opponent's confusion to cause any real damage. As the action became more heated, Barrera got away with more than one low blow, and luck was again on his side in Round 7 when a Morales body shot seemed to drop him, but was ruled merely a slip.

The favourite Barrera was now going forward confidently, having clearly saved his best for the
latter half of the fight. And he did indeed land many good shots, closing one of his opponent's eyes and cutting him. Even now, it was by no means an all-out war, but this seemed to be because both fighters were respectful of the other's skills. And while Barrera was often successful, Morales remained dangerous with his jab and his sharp counters. Sensing that he might be in danger on the scorecards, Barrera threw caution to the wind in Round 12 with some very aggressive work.

When the unanimous decision (116-112, 115-113, 115-113) was announced in favour of Marco Antonio Barrera, there was great relief for the victor, while Morales simply left the ring in disgust. I scored the fight to Barrera by a single point, but certainly the contest was very close throughout. If Erik Morales deserved to win either fight with Barrera, then it was this one. Perhaps the Las Vegas judges were overgenerous towards Barrera to "make amends" for the infamous scoring in the first contest, but there is a feeling that the business between these two fighters remains unresolved.

So Marco Antonio Barrera improved his record to 55-3-0-1 (39) and handed Erik Morales, now 41-1 (31), the first loss of his pro career. This fight was not as satisfactory as the first in terms of the quality of its action, and there remains a distinct possibility that this great rivalry may give rise to another meeting, the final instalment of an absorbing trilogy.

 

 


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