Kelly Swanson: Thank you so much everybody for joining us today for Marco Antonio Barrera’s conference call. As everybody is aware, the fight is coming up – his fight with Manny Pacquiao Saturday, October 6, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino live on pay per view..
Tickets are still available and are available at the Mandalay Bay box office and all ticket master locations and as well as the pay per view telecast will begin at 9:00 pm Eastern time, 6:00 pm Pacific and is available to all viewers who can’t make it live to the show
We’re very fortunate today to have Marco Antonio Barrera join us from his training camp in Guadalajara, Mexico. Also on the line with us is Eric Gomez who will be the translator and Ramiro Gonzalez as well from Golden Boy who will help in the discussion.
We will – we do have some English and Spanish speaking media on the line with us. So if everybody is patient, for Spanish questions we will translate to English and for English questions, we will translate to Spanish. So without further ado, I’d like to open it up to Mr. Barrera.
And Marco if you could give us a brief statement as to how training camp is going and with less than two weeks away, how you’re feeling about your anticipated bout with Manny Pacquiao on Saturday, October 6. Marco. Eric Gomez will translate for him.
Marco, we would now like to have you give us a brief statement. How training camp is going, how you’re feeling less than two weeks away from the fight and then we’ll turn it over to the media for questions. Marco.
Eric Gomez: He says hi. Welcome everybody. Thank you for being on this conference call. I’m feeling really good, training really hard and I’m ready. I can’t wait to fight.
Kelly Swanson: Okay. Great. Let’s open it up to the media please and if you could keep the noise down in the background, I’d appreciate it.
Okay. Operator please open it up for questioning. Start with our first question.
Agustavo Sanches: (“”Foreign Language””)
Eric Gomez: The question was, Marco basically are you taking this fight for the honor of Mexico? You know Manny Pacquiao he beat you in the first fight. He also beat Erik Morales twice convincingly knocked him out. What do you feel and, you know, are you doing it for the honor of Mexico?
And Marco replied yes. Obviously it’s a big honor for me to be able to fight. This is a personal fight for me. It’s very personal. I’m taking it personal. He beat me so I have to get my revenge.
Diego Martinez: (“”Foreign Language””)
Eric Gomez: The question is Marco, you know, there’s been rumors that Manny Pacquiao hasn’t been concentrating like he should. He’s not 100%. What do you think about that and are you expecting that
And he says no, you know what, I really don’t pay attention to that. I’m expecting the best Manny Pacquiao there is. There’s a lot of rumors going around that Freddie Roach is sending spies, this and that. There’s no need to send spies. I’ll open up the doors for him. He can come and see the training if he wants. I’ll set it up all up for him.
Dan Rafael: Marco I wondered, you know, the first fight was a pretty dominant victory for Manny Pacquiao several years ago. I wondered what is going to be the difference in your perspective in how this second fight unfolds?
Eric Gomez: He says yes. He says, you know, obviously I had a bad night. I’m not going to make any excuses. It was a bad night. But the difference in this fight is that training has been great. It’s been great. I’ve had a great training camp. And there’s no excuses.
Dan Rafael: Would you ask him Eric if there’s anything in that first fight that he thought he did well that he will look to carry on in the second fight or was it just a complete meltdown of everything and just everything went wrong for him?
Eric Gomez: He says yeah. It was a total meltdown. He says, you know, I can’t really take anything from that fight. It was Manny’s night that fight. He took it to me. But this fight, the difference is going to be that – the inspiration within me. I’m really inspired for this fight and training camp has been real relaxed; no problems. Everything has been going really smooth and great.
Dan Rafael: One more question for America. I have heard, read, seen that he has made changes in his corner that Rudy is gone, that Robert Diaz, his long time advisor, is no longer involved in his camp and this particular fight. Can he clarify that situation and tell me one, if that’s true. And if so, who’s in the camp? And two, if they are gone, how come?
Eric Gomez: He says that the only exception is that Robert’s not with him anymore. When he first hired Robert, Robert was a driver for him and Robert got involved in other things promotional wise. And he’s no longer in the team, but everything else is the same.
Dan Rafael: So Rudy’s still the trainer, right?
Eric Gomez: I want to clarify about Rudy. Rudy’s not in the team. Twenty days before the last fight, Rudy renounced and he took off and he was there fight night but he wasn’t really part of the team. And he’s on his own now and he’s going to be doing his own thing.
Dan Rafael: So who is the trainer for Marco?
Eric Gomez: He said that the only difference is Rudy; that everybody else is still there; the same team. It’s my brother. My brother’s been in charge of my training for so many years and Tenaka who helps him with the mitts. But, you know, other than that, Rudy’s the only difference
Dan Rafael: Okay. So Eric just to clarify, the head trainer is the brother?
Eric Gomez: Yes. Jorge Barrera.
Dan Rafael: Jorge. Okay. I just have one more question for him. Marco has talked about retiring maybe by the end of this year. Obviously this is a big, big fight for him. Does he envision that however it goes that he’s going to call it a day when this is over? I mean, it will obviously a great way to retire on a great win like this. Of course if he loses, you know, I can also understand if he was going to call it quits. What are his thoughts about that?
Eric Gomez: He says, yeah, you know, it’s a decision I made. I basically am planning to retire. It’s not a decision I made overnight. It’s been, you know, within the last three years, I’ve been thinking about it. I’ve talked it over with my wife, with my family, with my friends and it’s something that I really want to do.
I just feel that I’ve been in this sport for so many years, 26 years I’ve been in this sport; eighteen as a fighter. And I’m ready to pass the torch. Pass it on to like fighters like Valero, Edwin Valero. All those guys out there that are calling out my name that want to fight me, let Valero fight them.
Dan Rafael: So is he saying for sure this is the last one, win or lose?
Eric Gomez: He says yeah, nothing’s changed. That should be my last fight.
Robert Morales: Marco, being that your first fight with Pacquiao, he didn’t just win a decision, he stomped you. How much has that defeat been eating away at you the past few years?
Eric Gomez: He says no, not at all. It hasn’t been eating away at me. It was just a bad night. I had very good fights after that. Big win against Erik Morales to regain the title. Not at all. It hasn’t – it didn’t eat away at me. Not at all. It was just a bad night and I learned from it. I just say it was experience and I learned from that experience.
Robert Morales: Okay. So does that mean that now – well let me ask it kind of in a different way then. Being that it was a decisive victory for Pacquiao, does that maybe give him a little bit more motivation than it might normally have given him if he just had lost a decision?
Eric Gomez: He says the motivation has been there ever since I signed the contract for this fight. I’m motivated because it’s personal. I’m motivated because I want to dedicate this fight to the Latin people. And it’s just – it’s been there ever since the fight was signed.
Robert Morales: Okay. Last thing. To him in his mind, why is it personal?
Eric Gomez: He says that it’s been a thorn in his side because he’s beaten so many Mexicans and obviously I want to put a stop to that. I want to put a stop to that. I mean, he’s beaten not only me. Other Mexicans have suffered at, you know, and been, you know, they’ve been defeated by him. So I want to put a stop to that.
David Avila: How did he convince another world champion like Valero to spar with him? I mean, it’s not often that world champions spar with other world champions.
Eric Gomez: I didn’t have to convince him. You know, it’s just through the friendship we have. We’re great friends and I have a very good relationship with his promoter, Mr. Honda. And Mr. Honda came through and he sent me, you know, he’s always sent me sparring partners in the past and he sent them over. And it’s through the relationship we have. We’re great friends.
David Avila: And another questions is how is it sparring with Valero. I mean, he always goes 100%. I mean this guy’s a murderous puncher
Eric Gomez: He says that yeah, you know what, he says all I can say is he’s a great fighter. He’s a great person; great fighter and we have a great relationship. And we got together and we bonded. We talked about certain things and I told him that basically all those guys that are calling out my name and want to fight against me, I’ll pass them on to him.
Operator: Thank you. Your next question is coming from (Pluto Science)
(“”Foreign Language””
Eric Gomez: I’ll translate in English. The first question was it’s very interesting Marco you were training with Edwin Valero. Edwin Valero has been very vocal and open on criticizing Manny Pacquiao in the past. He said that Manny Pacquiao has many flaws in his style. Did you guys ever talk about that?
Marco said yes, you know, we talked about different things and his style and there is some flaws there. I can’t really be specific or I don’t want to get into being specific on some of the flaws that we came out with. But yes, he gave me some advice.
And then the second question was you fought Manny Pacquiao it’s going to be almost five years now. What’s the difference between the Manny Pacquiao you fought then and the Manny Pacquiao you’re going to fight October 6?
And he said well Manny has way more experience and he’s become more of a complete fighter. He’s refined his tools and I just think that he’s more of a complete fighter now.
Jun Llagan: Will you be changing your style and strategy on October 6? And how differently will you be fighting that evening? And whatever strategy you will adopt, how different will that be from that of say Morales and Solis
Maybe what I want to find out is what exactly is the game plan that would be – I mean, are you adopting a different game plan on October 6 compared to your other fight, previous fight with Manny Pacquiao? Thank you.
Eric Gomez: His answer was, you know, I’m going to make a good fight. I think that the public is going to be very, very happy. It’s going to be a very good fight. They’re going to like the fight. You know, there’s not too much I can change. I’m 33 years old. I’ve been boxing. I have my style.
People know the way I fight. Everybody knows me. You know, I really can’t go into details, but I’m just going to make it a good fight. It’s going to be a very good fight.
Eduard Cauich: (“”Foreign Language””)
Eric Gomez: The question was Marco do you feel that it’s going to help you having the rematch now versus having the rematch right after you lost the first fight? How do you feel about that – having the rematch now towards the end of your career?
And Marco said, you know, the most important thing for me is the opportunity. That first fight you can basically, you can throw it out the window. It was a bad night. I had a bad night that first fight.
You know, the big difference I think from the first fight and this fight is the preparation. The preparation I had for this one is so good. I just feel so confident, so good because preparation for this fight.
Eduard Cauich: (“”Foreign Language””)
Eric Gomez: The question was Marco have you learned from the errors? Did you learn from the errors that Erik Morales had, you know, on his two losses to Manny Pacquiao. And are you going to implement some of those.
And Marco said you know what? You know, he made a lot of errors. There was a lot of errors in those two fights but let’s not talk about that. Let’s talk about the first fight when he did everything perfect and he beat him. He beat him from the opening bell. That’s what I’m concentrating on.
Eduard Cauich: (“”Foreign Language””)
Eric Gomez: How much have the three videos or the three fights of Erik Morales helped you.
And he says yeah, obviously, you know, they’ve helped me but I know the guy. I know him. I see him in my sleep. I see him all the time. I know exactly what he does. I know how he fights. So I’m prepared. I’m going to be ready for this fight.
Dan Rafael: Eric could you ask Marco so many times in his career he’s been written off after the Junior Jones fights, nobody gave him a chance in the Nasim Hamed fight. You know, a lot of people thought maybe Rocky Juarez would beat him in the second fight given how hard the first fight was.
But he has had this amazing ability over the course of his career to come up with a huge win when very few people expect it. Does he – what does he – what is the reason for that in his mind? And, you know, does he believe that this is going to be the greatest one of all of them?
Eric Gomez: He said that, you know, more than anything it’s the motivation that gets him up for these fights. The motivation of the nay-sayers, the people that are putting him down; they say that he’s out. He says I like to shut their mouth. So it’s happened in the past, you know, yes they criticize me.
They told me that I’d been done, but I’ve come back and I’ve shut their mouth. They say they’re the experts in boxing. Just because you watch boxing doesn’t mean you’re an expert. You know, I like to – I like to prove them wrong and more than anything I think that yeah this fight is I’m going to have a chance to do the same thing.
And it’s something personal that I have inside. And I really want to do this, you know, but the thing is my preparation for this fight has been perfect and that’s what’s really motivating me. I’m really calm right now because I know that I did my work and did what I had to do in camp.
Dan Rafael: Okay. Also, you know, yesterday Bob Arum and Oscar were on a conference call taking about this fight trying to promote and hype it up. And both of them agreed that if Marco does pull the upset, they’d be one and one.
And both guys said, you know, what a huge third fight that would be. I’m wondering is that something that – he obviously thinks he’s going to win. Is that something that’s in the back of his mind or is it like he said earlier. This is it for him; he’s going to retire?
Eric Gomez: He says I’ve made up my mind. My mind is set. This is the last big fight I’m doing. If I do lace them up again after this fight, it’s going to be for a retirement fight and it’s not going to be against a top-level guy. I’ve had so many tough fights in my career, I’ve decided now that this is the last big fight I’m having.
Dan Rafael: So when you say like a farewell retirement fight, I guess what go home to Mexico, give something back to his fans or some other sort of endeavor?
Eric Gomez: He said yes. He said, you know, it can take place in Mexico, maybe Guadalajara or maybe even Los Angeles or in Las Vegas. But that’s it, I’ve got my mind set. I just – I don’t want to do anymore big fights
They’re not in my head. They’re not in my head right now. I don’t want to do anymore big fights. And, you know, I’ll make that decision after the fight, but definitely I’ve decided that if I do lace them up, it’s going to be a farewell fight.
Dan Rafael: Okay. He should tell that to Oscar and to Bob. But in all seriousness, thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you Marco.
Dyan Garcia: Marco you said earlier that you believe that Pacquiao is a more complete fighter now. He has more experience and many too say that he is at the peak of his game and you being in your last fight, how – what makes you believe that you’re going to be able to put you’re A game for this fight to be able to beat Pacquiao at this point of his career?
Eric Gomez: He says that basically look, it’s like any other fight. You know, sometimes experience beats a young guy that’s at his peak. And that’s what I have. I have a lot of experience. And it’s not whether I can get up to my A game or to his level. It’s about using my experience and doing my plan of fight and that’s what’s going to help me be victorious
Dyan Garcia: Could you comment on the report that came out where Freddie Roach was saying that one of the things he will do when he gets to Las Vegas is sure that the thickness of the wrapping of your hand will be thinner because mentioned that in the previous fight that you sometimes wrap your hand so thick that it’s almost like (unintelligible).
Eric Gomez: He said Freddie’s not a good trainer. He’s not a good trainer. He shouldn’t be worried about me. He should be worried about Manny Pacquiao. Worry about your own guy.
This is not the first time that I’ve fought in Vegas. I fought in Vegas a lot of times. I’ve never had problems with my wrap. Everything’s been great. You know what? He’s not a very good trainer. Look what he did to Oscar. He helped Oscar lose. Look what he did with Israel Vazquez. Israel Vazquez got knocked out.
You know what? He’s not a very good trainer. I think he should worry about his own guy. Worry about Manny Pacquiao.
Claudio Coreno: (“”Foreign Language””)
Eric Gomez: The question was you know, when things get, you know – what’s more important for you in this fight? The preparation that you’ve done or, you know, because you’ve trained with a guy like Edwin Valero or because, you know, you had a very good fight against Juan Manuel Marquez. Do you think that that’s going to help you in this fight? What is it that’s going to help you?
And Marco just repeated basically that, you know, what’s helping me is yeah, it’s the preparation that I have for this fight. I just feel so comfortable, so relaxed right now because I’ve done all my work in the gym and I’ve trained very hard.
Claudio Coreno: (“”Foreign Language””)
Eric Gomez: The question was Marco how do you compare the training camp that you had back when you had the first fight to the one you’re having now?
And he said well the first fight it was very bad; it was negative point 75. I mean, that’s how I felt and my preparation was really bad for the first fight. This fight it’s like from 1 to 10, it’s like 12. You know, I just feel really good and really confident now. Everything that I’ve done, I’ve done my work in the training camp
Michael Katz: Marco, my curiosity. Who do you think won between Pacquiao and Marquez?
Eric Gomez: I think the fans won. The fans in the stands, the people that were watching the fight, they’re the ones that won in that fight.
Michael Katz: Okay. Marco now that you’re at the end, who would you rate as the greatest Mexican fighters of all time?
Eric Gomez: He actually, well he went down the list and he said that he thinks of himself as 12. He said that obviously Julio Cesar Chavez, number one; Salvador Sanchez, number two; Ruben Olivares, three; Carlos Zarate, four; Lupe Pintor, five; and then he went down the line. He said a bunch of other guys and..
Eric Gomez: …and number 11 was Erik Morales and then he said that it was – he thinks of himself as 12.
Michael Katz: Is Marquez in there? Either one of them?
Eric Gomez: He says that he feels that those 12 fighters that he just named are fighters that have won in the ring, not that fights were fixed or they helped them win.
Michael Katz: I think he probably could be a little bit higher than 12. Thank him.
Eddie Goldman: On the conference call yesterday Oscar De La Hoya said basically you’re saving your best for last in order to avenge the defeat in the first fight with Manny Pacquiao. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Do you feel this is what you want to do saving your best for last?
Eric Gomez: He says yeah. I feel that that’s so. That’s what I have to do. I have to save the best for last. I’ve had good nights. I’ve had bad nights. And this particular fight, I’m – yes, I’m going to have to do that.
Eddie Goldman: Does that mean we can expect you to be better than you looked in say the first fight with Rocky Juarez and in your most recent fight with Juan Manuel Marquez?
Eric Gomez: Yes. Yes completely. Totally different.
Eddie Goldman: Do you want to make a prediction for the fight?
Eric Gomez: He says it’s going to be a very good fight for the fans. They’re going to really like it; enjoy it. And I’m going to win.
Kelly Swanson: Okay. Great. At this point I’d really like to thank Marco Antonia Barrera for taking time out of his training schedule to join us today on this conference call. Also, certainly Eric Gomez for translation.
And if anybody has any questions, please feel free to call Ramiro Gonzalez at Golden Boy Promotions. And we look forward to seeing you at the fight. And thank you again for your coverage.