Boxing

 

Barrera back to his best against Tapia

By Murali Para

03.11 - Although no belt was officially on the line, last night's bout between Marco Antonio Barrera and Johnny Tapia was eagerly anticipated. And not without good reason, as it proved to be an entertaining - if not spectacular - fight between 2 fine multi-weight champions who are good friends outside the ring. Of course, the fact that last night's warriors have the 2 Tapia-Ayala fights and the 2 Barrera-Morales fights on their resumes built up anticipation even more. Barrera, known as the Baby-faced Assassin, is rightly considered to be the world's premier featherweight after solid wins over Hamed and Morales, and last night he re-emphasised this point, in spite of his opponent's spirited challenge. It was to prove significant that Johnny Tapia, a 5-times world champion whose troubled personal life is well documented, was the naturally smaller and the older man, being 35 years of age against Barrera's 28.

From the outset, Barrera dictated with the jab, fighting off the back foot. He found his range very easily, keeping Tapia at bay by using his reach to maximum advantage and picking him off with accurate counterpunches. Tapia was typically fearless in his efforts and had the odd success in the opening rounds, but at times it seemed as though Barrera was putting on a master-class. The gulf between the fighters would persist throughout the fight, with the exception of rounds 6 to 8. It was also clear that Barrera's style has evolved from that of the aggressive brawler with a high volume of punches that featured earlier in his career, even as recently as the first Morales fight. Last night, he was much more the thinking, measured boxer. For some it might make him less exciting, but the level of skill involved in his work is admirable.

Mostly, it was very much a case of Barrera starting as he meant to go on. There was a strange moment in the 3rd round where Barrera delivered a blow that appeared to connect directly with Tapia's belt protector. Tapia clearly thought the blow was low, and retaliated in an attempt to 'return the compliment'. In any case, after a few seconds it was back to total professionalism on the part of both fighters, and this was the spirit in which the entire fight was contested. Gloves were touched before every round and often during rounds, and there was even a hug before the final round. In terms of the balance of power, mostly Barrera proved too hard to hit and too swift with his jab for Tapia. In rounds 6-8 Tapia displayed his true battling qualities and these were the only ones where there was a consistent exchange of blows. In my opinion, Barrera did enough to edge the 6th, but I gave the 7th to Tapia and scored the 8th even.

The fight was a very entertaining one, though it stopped short of being a classic, the likes of which both these big little men have provided us with in the past. One sensed that Barrera might have been able to stop Tapia late if he had wanted to, as his flurries did seem to trouble Tapia. But there was too much respect, even before the fight ended. Tapia took on the role of showman in the closing rounds, constantly grinning in the midst of the action and even screaming with delight at the end of the 10th. There was no hint of controversy when the judges' scorecards were announced: Barrera had a UD points win by margins of 116-112 and 118-110 (twice).

The 'People's Champion', Marco Antonio Barrera, improved to 56-3 (39) while Johnny 'Mi Vida Loca' Tapia's record went to 52-3-2 (28). Barrera remains the man to beat at featherweight and has the bearing now of a true modern great. I look forward to Ayala-Morales, as it seems like 'El Terrible' is still the man who will run Barrera the closest.

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