by James Slater: Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera, still on the hunt for a fourth word title in as many weight classes, returned to action in June, when he defeated Adailton De Jesus. The win the 36-year-old chalked up was Barrera’s 66th and his first since losing to Amir Khan fifteen months previously. Believing he has what it takes to make boxing history by becoming the first Mexican to win four world titles, Barrera wants a piece of the lightweight championship.
Shortly after the De Jesus win, which saw Barrera’s record go to 66-7(43), promoter Bob Arum said his plan was to move Barrera quickly, hopefully getting him a shot at WBC 135-pound champion Humberto Soto as soon as this year. This hasn’t happened, however, and it now looks like Marco will have at least one more bout before going for a title; whether it’s Soto’s or somebody else’s. According to Boxrec.com, “The Baby Faced Assassin” will clash with former WBC lightweight boss David Diaz next; meeting the 34-year-old southpaw in Mexico on September 15th (venue to be determined).
The bout is down as happening at lightweight (Barrera’s last fight took place at 141-pounds), yet so far no scheduled distance has been put up by Boxrec. A fairly interesting fight, and one that will give us some idea of how much Barrera has left (Diaz too, come to that), the match-up between former champs could prove to be a fan-friendly fight.
Chicago’s Diaz, 35-3-1(17) has already had a colourful and excitement-filled career; one that has seen him take a lot of punishment. As tough and as brave as they come he may be, but many fans thought they’d seen the last of Diaz after he’d lost, via brutal 9th-round KO, to Manny Pacquiao. However, after taking a good break of well over a year, Diaz came back to hammer out a ten-round Majority Decision over another all-action tough guy in Jesus Chavez. This was back in September of last year, and since then, Diaz has lost in a bid to regain his WBC 135-pound crown; being soundly out-pointed by the aforementioned Humberto Soto. This was back in March, and if Boxrec is correct, Diaz has evidently the desire to fight at least once more. Can he send Barrera into full time retirement?
Barrera may be the older man of the two, but he has probably taken less punishment than has Diaz; even though Marco has had almost twice as many bouts as the Chicago warrior. Also a far more polished boxer than Diaz, Barrera should still have enough left in the tank to be able to cruise to a fairly comfortable points win. Diaz is a southpaw, though, and we all know what happened to Barrera the last time he met a lefty – albeit an exceptional one in Pacquiao. Still, if Diaz’s stance does serve to give today’s version of Barrera some problems, his chances of scoring the upset – and it would be an upset if Diaz beat Barrera – would improve some.
Cuts and other facial injuries are always a possibility in a Diaz fight, and September’s prospective clash is no different. Barrera, too, is more prone to cuts and the like today, and the lightweight battle could possibly be a bloody affair.
How much does Barrera have left, and is winning a fourth title a real possibility? How much has Diaz got left, and should he really be taking one more fight? These questions and more will be answered (if the fight goes ahead) next month.
Incidentally, Erik Morales, Barrera’s once fierce rival, who has also met (and lost to) Diaz, is in action against Scotland’s Willie Limond the Saturday before the scheduled Barrera-Diaz bout. Could the two men who gave us that thrilling three-fight series meet up for a fourth fight one day fairly soon?