23.05.06 – By James Slater: Marco Antonio Barrera did it again on Saturday (May 20th). He gritted his teeth and fought in the trenches to pull out a very close, but by all means honest, victory over one of the best contenders out there in the super featherweight division. Marco’s been doing this for years now. He has consistently fought the very best and, win, lose, or draw, he always gives his all. Yes, the end may be approaching, but when the curtain does finally come down on the career of the man from Mexico City we will all quickly realise how much we are going to miss him.. If indeed, the Rocky Juarez bout is to be the last win on Barrera’s fine record then it would be an honourable note on which to be remembered. Marco fought through the pain – pain he had felt before in unbelievable wars with Erik Morales- and pounded out the win. The wars have certainly started to catch up with him though and he himself admits he is now in the stage of his career where he is paving the way to his retirement. He is solidifying his legacy. As the greatest ever boxer to come out of Mexico? I believe so. He has managed to surpass his only other rival for such an accolade in “J.C Superstar” – Julio Cesar Chavez. High praise indeed, but when it comes to Marco Antonio Barrera it is warranted.
Let’s take a look back at some of the many notable achievements this boxing legend has to his credit.
Marco turned pro back in 1989 at the tender age of fifteen. He proceeded to go undefeated in his first forty three bouts, capturing his very first title in 1992, in his seventeenth fight. Marco won the Mexican super flyweight title by beating Josefino Suarez on points over twelve rounds. This title would prove to be the first of many. He would progress to the WBO world super bantamweight title three years later with a good win over Daniel Jiminez, again on points, and by now he was receiving recognition in America- thanks in large part to him having boxed quite a few of his early bouts in The Great Western Forum in California. Shortly after the win over Jiminez, Marco fought the first truly epic fight of his career. He met
former Olympian Kennedy McKinney, again at the Forum, in February of 1996. A superb display of action packed boxing followed. Both men hit the canvas ( only the second ever time for Barrera- the first was in a bout with Agapito Sanchez the year before) before Barrera got the job done in the twelfth and last round with a badly beaten, but incredibly courageous McKinney being rescued by the referee. It was a fight that would be remembered by fight fans for a long time.
Marco carried on in his all-out aggressive style- to the delight of the fans- until he ran into “Poison” Junior Jones. Only nine months (yet in an amazing activity level, another four fights) on from the McKinney fight, Barrera was beaten for the first time. His defence neglecting style of fighting caught up with him and he was stopped in the fifth round of a stunning upset. Although officially the result was a disqualification win for Jones because of Marco’s corner men entering the ring, the awesome punch power of the challenger was the real and undeniable reason. Marco was crushed by the loss. He was devastated.
Five months later he tried for revenge. This time a much closer fight ensued but for a second time the Brooklyn native prevailed – this time on points. It was clear that Junior Jones was Barrera’s bogeyman. Marco just could not master his style. Some now mistakenly wrote Barrera off. There had been a prospective super fight in the works for Barrera to face new star Naseem Hamed. Such plans would have to wait- for now.
Marco regrouped and won his next seven fights. Before engaging in the first of a three fight series for which he will be best remembered for. Barrera would meet his Mexican rival Erik “El Terrible” Morales! Morales was the new Mexican star and he was undefeated. He was the favourite in the match-up with Barrera as most still vividly remembered the two losses to Jones that the man from Mexico City had suffered. Tijuana’s favourite son was expected to dispatch his rival countryman. What followed, in February of 2000, may well be the greatest fight ever held at super bantamweight. Marco fought
with a kill or be killed attitude right from the start and fight fans and experts alike watched with their mouths agape as one of the most unforgettable and violent slugfests in the history of boxing took place before them. The momentum swung one way and then the other, with neither man willing to yield. It was breathtaking. Some said later that the fight was a super bantamweight version of Hagler v Hearns – but for twelve rounds! It was that good a fight. After twelve ferocious rounds the decision was awarded to Erik. Many disagreed- Marco had fought his heart out yet lost again. Officially. There would have to be a return fight, that much was obvious. But it would be some time before either man wanted to put themselves through such hell again. And who could blame them?
As it turned out, Barrera’s career had still to reach its peak. The two losses to Junior Jones aside, Marco was fast becoming the people’s choice for the best super bantamweight in the world. He would soon move up to featherweight and claim that distinction there also. The once mooted Hamed fight was back on. However, Barrera had undergone a style makeover. Since the brutality of the Morales fight Marco had realised that if he were to continue with his career he would have to alter certain things. The world was about to see Marco Antonio Barrera the cagey boxer. Actually, if the Hamed camp had done their homework they would have seen the change in Marco’s style in his fight with Jesus Salud at the tail end of 2000. They would have also realised that all the talk from Barrera going into the Hamed bout, about his intentions of coming out brawling as was the Mexican way, was a bluff. Such tactics, had they been employed, would more than likely have suited “The Prince”, but Marco was now a much smarter fighter – as Naseem, and the watching audience would find out.
Hamed was given a virtual boxing lesson on his way to a comprehensive points defeat, his first and only loss, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in April of 2001. The myth of Naseems’ boxing brilliance was shattered for all to see on this particular evening (he all but retired afterwards) as once again Marco proved just how good he was. He was now a proven force at world class in two weight divisions. People now knew that Marco could do it all in the ring- be it slug or be it box, -he was more than capable of dominating his opposition. What could Marco do now to top the superb and satisfying win over Hamed? A rematch with Morales was a natural and after a successful defence against Enrique Sanchez fight two was staged.
This time, however, two years later, the roles were somewhat reversed. Now it was Barrera who was the fighter estimated to be the superior of the two. Erik had looked quite ring-worn in his fights with Guty Espadas and than In Jin Chi prior to his second encounter with Marco. He was the underdog this time as a result. The fight that followed unfortunately disappointed many who were expecting a thrilling bout like the first fight. This time, with his superb boxing skills once again in evidence, Marco fought smart and picked up the points win. As with the first fight though, the wrong man appeared to get the victory. Still, as Marco deserved to have his hand raised after fight one, things were perceived as all square and relatively acceptable now. The rubber match would have to happen though!
There was an unforeseen bump in the road for Marco, however. After good wins against Johnny Tapia and Kevin Kelley, Marco ran into the Philippines fighter Manny Pacquiao. In a stunning upset, Manny manhandled the champion to defeat in eleven mostly one-sided rounds. Once again Marco was written off by many people. He was far from done yet though. He came back with a stoppage win over Paulie Ayala in June of the following year and then signed for the rubber match with Morales. Once again Marco was the underdog. He had been badly beaten in the fight with Pacquiao, while Morales looked as though he had a new lease of life – stopping Espadas in three easy looking rounds in a rematch of what was seen as a tough fight. Erik had also beaten Jesus Chavez and Carlos Hernadez in fine fights.
Now it was the decider between the Mexican rivals. A high quality and supremely entertaining fight was witnessed-this time up at super featherweight- and some actually favoured it to the first thrilling bout. It was desperately close after twelve rounds and yet again an agonising wait for the reading of the judges scorecards was endured. Marco prevailed by a razor thin majority verdict. Morales was bitter at the result and refused to be civil towards Barrera afterwards, choosing instead to try and throw water over him. There really was some bad blood between the two men.
This fight really capped the great career of Marco, but he still had a lot of fight in his heart. He wasn’t ready to quit just yet. Two easy wins came next, against the overmatched Mzonke Fana and then Robbie Peden. Then came last Saturday’s fight with Rocky Suarez. The only question is, what’s left? Obviously a revenge fight with Manny Pacquiao would please many, me included. In truth it’s the only fight out there that Barrera needs to win to prove himself to whatever critics he has left. After such an honourable and distinguished career it is hard to imagine how he could have too many.
However Marco chooses to end his fighting days- be it a second fight with the man from the Philippines or something else- he has certainly done enough to be ranked as the finest ever fighter to come from the great country of Mexico.
And that, surely, is a distinction that many a fighter would give his right arm for! Marco, we applaud you.