Manny Pacquiao isn?t taking Marco Antonio Barrera lightly and expects to be in peak form when he faces the Baby-Faced Assassin from Mexico in Las Vegas on Oct. 6.
?I?m not thinking about how old he is or if he?s slowed down since we fought four years ago,? Pacquiao told The Star the other day. ?I?m training for a hard fight against someone I respect, someone who?s out for revenge. Barrera has hit me harder than any other Mexican fighter. I don?t care what the odds are. As far as I?m concerned, it?s a 50-50 fight.?
Pacquiao brushed aside notions of the 33-year-old Barrera looking less of the fighter he was when he beat the likes of Nassem Hamed, Erik Morales twice, Johnny Tapia, Kevin Kelley, Agapito Sanchez, Jesus Salud and Kennedy McKinney in winning world titles in three weight divisions.
?I watched Barrera?s last fight when he lost to (Juan Manuel) Marquez and noticed he?s slower,? said Pacquiao. ?But that won?t make me overconfident. Barrera is training very hard to beat me. Last time, he claimed he lost because he was distracted. He wants to prove something. If this is his last hurrah, he will want to go out with a bang. I still consider him a very dangerous opponent. To me, it?s not important that Barrera is older or his body is more beat up. All I know is he wants to win as badly as I do. He?s hungry for a win.?
Pacquiao, 28, said he expects Barrera to box from long range like he did in beating Rocky Juarez twice on points last year. ?Freddie (Roach) thinks he?ll run,? continued Pacquiao. ?If he does, we?re prepared to counter it. We?re ready to beat Barrera anyway he wants to fight. I?ve got a lot of surprises for him.?
Pacquiao said training in Cebu has been torture but he?s building his resistance by pushing himself to the limit under hot and humid conditions.
?The heat is almost unbearable,? he said. ?I run in the morning and work out in the afternoon. I think it was good that we decided to train in Cebu. It?s a test of my discipline. I?m very focused. I?m building my stamina. After a workout, I?m exhausted because of the heat.?
Pacquiao said he?ll fly to Los Angeles on Sept. 22 to give himself two weeks to acclimatize to US conditions.
Although Pacquiao said he likes training in Cebu, he couldn?t be sure if he?ll repeat the workout regimen in future fights. ?It depends on the circumstances,? he said.
Before the first meeting, Barrera complained that he couldn?t focus in training because a forest fire broke out near his camp, forcing his evacuation, and news of the steel plate surgically implanted in his head to protect the brain worried his family. The loss to Pacquiao was devastating and is the only knockout blemish in his record.
Barrera trailed in the three judges scorecards, 97-90 (Ray Hawkins), 97-89 (Gale Van Hoy) and 97-90 (Rick Crocker), when referee Laurence Cole stopped it at 2:56 of the 11th round in San Antonio in 2003. Barrera then rebounded to win six in a row before losing to Marquez last March.
Pacquiao said there will be three Filipino fighters in the Mandalay Bay undercard ? Glenn (Rapid Fire) Gonzales of North Cotabato, Jundy (Pretty Boy) Maraon of Zamboanga del Sur and Gerry Pe?alosa?s prot?g? Mike Farenas of Sorsogon.
Gonzales, 21, has a 6-0-1 record, with three KOs, and is the WBO Asia Pacific Youth interim featherweight champion. Maraon, 22, is a 5-4 southpaw bantamweight with a 10-0-1 record, including eight KOs. Farenas, 23, has a 17-2 mark, with 15 KOs? as a featherweight and his only losses were decisions to Pacquiao sparmate Aaron Melgarejo and Jun Paderna.
Gonzales and Maraon are from North Cotabato Vice Gov. Manny Pi?ol?s stable. In a recent sparring session, Maraon displayed raw power in knocking out a junior featherweight despite wearing headgear and using 16-ounce gloves.
