We’ve just seen 44-year-old Floyd Mayweather box an exhibition, and now it’s the turn of 47-year-old Mexican ring warrior Marco Antonio Barrera. Barrera is scheduled to face countryman Jesus Soto Karras this Friday night in Pico Rivera. It’s clear, the veteran exhibition tour is not going to come to an end any time soon.
Barrera will face Karras at 154 pounds, the bout set for six rounds. It’s not actually clear if this one will be a real fight, not a mere exhibition. Either way, plenty of fight fans are somewhat concerned over what they may witness on Friday. Barrera, 67-7(44) last boxed in 2011, when he picked up a TKO win over Jose Arias. That fight came a couple of years after Barrera’s bloody TD defeat to Amir Khan. Fans knew back then that the once truly great Barrera was all out of bullets, his fire severely dimmed.
38-year-old Karrass is currently 29-13-4(18) and he last fought in 2018, when he picked up a decision win over the unbeaten Neeco Macias in what was actually a very entertaining fight, one that saw an amazing number of punches thrown. Karrass, judging by that display, had something left to offer. However, prior to the majority decision win over Macias, Karrass had been winless in his last six. Who knows what he can bring to the ring now?
Barrera is of course a living legend, and as such fans will watch his return. But will Barrera-Karrass be a dull affair the way Mayweather-Paul was, or will these two proud Mexicans get stuck in and give the paying fans a proper fight? Can Barrera still fight these days? It’s not clear why Barrera, a smart guy who is reportedly well invested, is coming back.
Maybe the temptation to return has proven as irresistible to Barrera as it has to so many other aging greats. Who wins on Friday? Will there actually be a winner? Most of us would prefer to have Barrera leave us with our great memories of his great fights.