14.09.06 – by Evan Young, BoxingForecast.com: On Saturday, September 16, 2006, two fights of major significance in the loaded Super Featherweight division will go down at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada televised on HBO PPV. Dominican wunderkind Joan Guzman will challenge rugged Argentinean Jorge Barrios for his WBO title and Mexican legend and master boxer Marco Antonio Barrera gives former Olympian and Texan Rocky Juarez a second chance at his WBC Super Featherweight Title. In their first fight Barrera barely shaded Juarez last May after the judges initially declared the bout a draw.
The winners move on to potential super fights that have the potential bring old boxing fans back and that could bring renewed interest in the sweet science if it was marketed correctly. The 130 pound division just may be the deepest in boxing and this is one division that I would love to see a unification tournament that determines the best guy. And many fights have happened or will happen that could make unification at least a possibility..
In November, Filipino Icon Manny Pacquiao fights a rubber match with another Mexican legend in Eric Morales. Both fights were highly entertaining and in their last fight Pacquiao become the first man to stop Morales in over 50 fights. Just last August, knock out specialist, Venezuelan Edwin Valero snatched the WBA title from tough Vincente Mosquera, by a 10th round stoppage. Valero is 20 – 0 with 20 knockouts! And this was the first time he has fought past the 2nd round as a professional fighter.
Other fighters of note include Humberto Soto, Bobby Pacquiao and Alex Arthur. Soto burst on the scene last year with an upset win over Juarez and has been on a tear. He hasn’t lost in four years and only once in the last six years. Bobby Pacquiao is Manny Pacquiao’s much less famous brother. B. Pacquiao was thought to be just an ordinary fighter but he has begun to train in earnest and has started turning some heads. In his last three fights he has beaten fringe contenders Carlos Navarro, Carlos Hernandez and Kevin Kelly. Alex Arthur is a solid fighter with only one loss that can be thrown into the pot. And there are many other tough contenders that round out this talent loaded division.
Not only can all these guys fight, they bring it every fight. What they bring is action, excitement and drama in large doses. Anyone that wants to see great fights between highly skilled combatants, then this is the division for you. Manny Pacquiao is considered by most either numbers 1 or 2 on the vaunted Pound for Pound lists that populate the boxing websites and would certainly be favored to come out on top against all of the aforementioned fighters, but isn’t it better to prove it in the ring and not on paper. And besides, many of these contenders are young fighters on the rise and ALL of them can punch and have skills. I say let the best fight the best and see who’s left standing when the smoke clears.