Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez know Mexican pride and a clash with Manny Pacquiao is on the line when they meet for the WBC super-featherweight title in Las Vegas tonight.
A fight against Filipino Pacquiao, considered one of the sport’s
best pound-for-pound fighters, will more than likely be available for the victor.
The champion Barrera (63-4, 42 KOs), already a Mexican legend
and one of three fighters from his country to win titles in three different divisions, tipped the scales at 130 pounds.
Marquez (46-3-1), who at one point held all three major titles
at 126, weighed in at 129 pounds.
“A victory over Marquez will not bring any more significance to my legacy that it doesn’t already have,” Barrera said.
“This fight won’t make or break me.”
Still Barrera, like Marquez, knows a fight against Pacquiao could punctuate his career. Barrera took a beating from Pacquiao in November 2003, losing his title with an 11th-round knockout.
It is more personal for Marquez, who was floored three times by Pacquiao in their previous meeting but boxed his way back to earn a draw in one of the more memorable fights in recent
memory. Marquez still claims he won the fight.
“That was the toughest fight of my life,” Marquez said.
“I won every round except the first.”
A notoriously slow starter, the strong and aggressive Marquez cannot afford to slip up out of the gates against Barrera.
“(Barrera) is too experienced and versatile to make mistakes against,” Marquez said.
“You can’t have a bad round against him. He’ll make you pay.”
