Barrera Already On The Canvas?

HBO: Pacquiao vs Barrera25.09.07 – Matthew Hurley: The upcoming rematch between Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao has more people wondering if Barrera has anything left rather than if there could be a reversal of Pacquiao’s 11th round knockout of the “Baby Faced Assassin” back in 2003. The rematch was a natural about three years ago but now this bout between two of the preeminent fighters of the era seems more of a formality than anything else. And now there is news out of Mexico City that a sparring partner may have knocked Barrera out cold.

Whatever the case may be Pacquiao and Barrera seem to be two fighters going in opposite directions. It isn’t inconceivable to envision Barrera falling in this bout in much the same fashion that Erik Morales did to the “Pac Man”. Or, for that matter, as Jose Luis Castillo did against Ricky Hatton. All fighters reach a point of no return and much like his most heated rival Morales, Barrera has been in one war after another and his body is breaking down, albeit at a slower rate than “El Terrible’s”. It has become more and more difficult for Barrera to fight three minutes of every round and that sloth nearly cost him in his first bout with Rocky Juarez and finally did catch up with him in his bout against Juan Manuel Marquez..

This signing of this bout also smacks of a perfect business opportunity. Most fight fans and boxing insiders would have preferred a rematch between Pacquiao and the more deserving Marquez who fought to a draw in 2004. Having beaten Barrera logic would dictate that Marquez would get the prize but once Golden Boy Promotions, which handles Barrera, and Top Rank, which handles Pacquiao settled their differences the rematch was the first order of business the two companies hashed out. Basically the once warring promotional firms came to the agreement that bouts between Pacquiao and Golden Boy fighters will be co-promoted. When Pacquiao fights opponents outside of fighters under Golden Boy Promotions, Top Rank will promote the fight with Golden Boy maintaining a promotional interest, which means they will be paid a fee.

Still all of this should not take away from the fact that if any fighter deserves one final shot at glory it is Barrera. He has certainly more than proven his worth during his Hall of Fame career and should be able to go out on his own terms. Despite the fact that, much like before Erik Morales’ third fight with Pacquiao, most experts think Barrera just might be in over his head. But never say that to a warrior like Marco Antonio Barrera. His pride has willed him through one tough bout after another when his talent could not quite get the job done against the best fighters of his era. It was that pride that raised his game to another level and elevated him to victory. And, there is always the sense that every great fighter has one last supreme effort left in him even when it appears there should be nothing left. Erik Morales recently proved that with his stirring showing against David Diaz in August.

So, will these rumors of Barrera being knocked out in training be a harbinger of things to come against Pacquiao? Or are they just rumors tossed out to further inflate the confidence of an already supremely confident, and perhaps distracted Manny Pacquiao? We’ll find out on October 6th.