IT’S no surprise that the last two fights of Marco Antonio Barrera’s career could be two of his toughest.
Barrera will put his World Boxing Council super featherweight belt on the line against Juan Manuel Marquez, one of the terrific featherweights of this era, on Saturday at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
If all goes well for Barrera, he would be looking to take on Manny Pacquiao in a rematch of their fight in November 2003, won by Pacquiao via 11th-round technical knockout.
The Mexican legend then would say good-bye to boxing after a spectacular career that began in Mexico City in 1989 at age 15.
“He has told us he wants to go out with a bang,” said Eric Gomez, matchmaker for Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Barrera. “He says, `Look, I could have fought a couple of bums and retired. But I want to create some excitement for boxing.’ “
It goes deeper than that.
“It’s very important for me, for the fans to remember me as the fighter that I was, fighting the top fighters and giving them the great fights and not be remembered as a fighter that ended his career fighting dead fighters,” Barrera said.
He and Marquez are 33. Barrera has accomplished more than Marquez, but he has had to endure much more. Marquez (46-3-1, 35 KOs) has been in tough fights, but he never has been stopped inside the distance in 50 bouts. Barrera (63-4, 42 KOs, one no-contest) has been a pro four years longer than Marquez and has 68 fights. Of his four defeats, he was stopped by Pacquiao and would have been stopped by Junior Jones in their first fight in November 1996, but Barrera was disqualified when one of his cornermen stepped inside the ring during the fifth round.
That’s not to mention the three slugfests against rival Erik Morales, two of which Barrera won. There are, in other words, more than a few experts who believe Barrera won’t even get to Pacquiao because he’ll lose to a fresher Marquez on Saturday.
“Very brave on his behalf,” Marquez said of Barrera taking him on. “He showed a lot of courage there.”
It’s about legacy, one that puts Barrera in the upper echelon of a long line of great fighters from Mexico. When you think of who some of them are, you come up with Julio Cesar Chavez, Salvador Sanchez and Ruben Olivares. To many, Barrera belongs right there with them.
“Well, I’ve accomplished much, much more than I ever dreamed of,” Barrera said. “That’s why I’m so grateful to boxing. It’s given me much more than I ever thought it would. I wanted to become a world champion. I became a world champion in three (weight) divisions, something I never dreamed of.
“That is why, at my 33 years of age, I feel very well, very good. That is why I want to exit and find the right door, the big door, to go out of boxing on top.”
Saturday’s fight will be available on HBO pay-per-view for $44.95.
As of Monday, injured boxer Victor Burgos remained at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance.
Burgos, a flyweight, was stopped in the 12th round by Vic Darchinyan on March 3 at Home Depot Center in Carson. Burgos had surgery that night to remove a blood clot on his brain. He was brought out of a medically induced coma the ensuing Tuesday and has been responding to verbal commands by doctors.
Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, 44, will continue his comeback Saturday when he takes on Vinny Maddalone in the main event at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
