Superstars MANNY PACQUIAO and MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA collide in a 12-round super featherweight title fight, Saturday, October 6. Promoted by Golden Boy and Top Rank, the Pacquiao-Barrera title rumble will take place at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino and broadcast live on HBO Pay-Per-View. Tickets are on sale now and are priced at $600, $400, $300, $200 and $100..
They can be purchased at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino box office and all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Macy’s stores and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call the Mandalay Bay box office at (702) 632-7580 or Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mandalaybay.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
Pacquiao-Barrera is a battle between legendary three-division world champions. Pacquiao (44-3-2, 35 KOs), of General Santos City. The Philippines, defeated Barrera (63-5, 42 KOs), of Mexico City, Mexico, in their exciting first encounter in 2003, claiming the ‘Baby Face Assassin’s’ featherweight title. Pacquiao is considered by many, boxing’s pound for pound most exciting fighter.
“Fighting Barrera is a career highlight for me,” said Pacquiao. “He has already beaten great world champions like Erik Morales, Naseem Hamed and Johnny Tapia and I know I am going to have to train harder than I ever have before to beat him. But I am fully prepared to sacrifice and do everything necessary to beat him. And I will. It’s going to be another great night for fight fans.”
“Pacquiao and I have one thing in common and that is this is the fight we have most wanted,” said Barrera. “But Pacquiao should have been more careful for what he wished for because he is going to be in the fight of his life. The battle is on and I am going to leave the ring as boxing’s new No. 1 pound for pound fighter.”
“This fight is what the fans have been asking for and I’m excited that we will be able to deliver this bout between these two all-time great champions,” said Oscar de la Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions.
“For Manny Pacquiao this is an essential fight so he can demonstrate, once and for all, that he is the king of the division,” said Bob Arum, CEO, Top Rank.
“Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera are both legendary fighters and national heroes in their homelands, who continually seek out the biggest challenges”, said HBO Pay-Per-View’s Mark Taffet. “Boxing fans love these matchups of ‘best vs best’ and are in for a real treat on October 6.”
Dubbed “Republica Enemy No. 1,” Pacquiao has blitzed through the best fighters Mexico had to offer since 2003, including Morales (KO 3, TKO 10), Barrera (TKO 11), Oscar Larios (W 12), Emanuel Lucero (TKO 3), Hector Velazquez (TKO 6) and Jorge Solis (KO 8). The only “blemish” was a draw against Juan Manuel Marquez in 2004, where Pacquiao sent Marquez to the canvas three times in the first round.
Pacquiao, was named “2006 Fighter of the Year” by the Boxing Writers Association of America and The Ring magazine for his two spectacular knockout victories of Mexican icon and three-division champion Erik Morales and his dominating 12-round unanimous decision over former world champion and current No. 1 contender Oscar Larios. The hard-hitting southpaw has only lost once in his last 21 bouts, a close decision in 2005 to Morales in their first encounter.
The Pacquiao-Morales trilogy produced over one million pay-per-view sales, a record for the lower weight divisions proving that Pacquiao is a pay-per-view star. The live attendance for their rubber match rumble last November produced a live gate of 18,276, fifth-best on Las Vegas’ all-time list.
Known as the “Baby Faced Assassin.” Barrera has provided boxing fans with more exciting moments than anyone of his era. In his own world championship trilogy against Erik Morales, fought in three different weight divisions, Barrera proved to be the better man twice. Those fights alone garnered him numerous accolades from The Ring, including “Fight of the Year” (2000, 2004), “Round of the Year” (5th in 2000, 11th in 2004), and “Comeback of the Year” (2004).
Barrera has never avoided a worthy challenge and his resume is a testament to a future Hall of Fame career. He has defeated many of the top fighters in his divisions, including current or former world champions Morales and Naseem Hamed, both undefeated when he faced them, Robbie Peden, Paulie Ayala, Kevin Kelley, Johnny Tapia , Enrique Sanchez, Jesus Salud, Jesse Benavides, Kennedy McKinney, Agapito Sanchez, Frankie Toledo, Daniel Jimenez, and Eddie Cook. In a streak that started in December, 2000, with the Salud fight and lasted for four years, Marco fought nine current or former world champions in a row.
Barrera made his professional debut in 1989 and won his first world title in 1995, dethroning WBO jr. featherweight champion Daniel Jimenez., the beginning of three separate reigns as that champion. In 2001, he tagged the undefeated IBO featherweight champion Hamed with his only career loss via a dominating unanimous decision. One year later, he added Morales’ WBC featherweight title to his trophy case, avenging a previous loss while spoiling Morales’ perfect record which had endured nine years and 42 bouts. Barrera would win the rubber match in 2004, while claiming Morales’ WBC super featherweight championship belt.
The Pacquiao vs. Barrera pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT, has a suggested retail price of $49.95, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 61 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For your Pacquiao vs. Barrera fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.