Underdog Marco Antonio Barrera is out to prove the oddsmakers wrong when he takes on Manny Pacquiao on Oct. 6 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
According to his promoter, Oscar dela Hoya, the former three-time world champion has never trained as hard as he hopes to avenge his bitter knockout loss to Pacquiao in 2003.
Barrera, now pushing 34, said this is his last big fight ? win, lose or draw.
?I?m saving my best for last,? Dela Hoya, quoting Barrera, told a teleconference yesterday in Los Angeles where he was joined by co-promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank.
Dela Hoya said Barrera is in tremendous shape and has prepared for the fight dubbed ?Will to Win? as hard as when he fought and defeated Naseem Hamed and Erik Morales.
?He was the underdog (then),? said Dela Hoya of the two fights, against Hamed in 2001 and Morales in 2002. They were both undefeated when they faced Barrera at the MGM Grand.
With only 10 days before the fight, oddsmakers in Vegas have placed Pacquiao as a -350 favorite against Barrera at +250. It means that a $350 bet on Pacquiao only wins $100.
Before the teleconference, The STAR got hold of Arum who said he expects the odds to go down in favor of Pacquiao in the last few days before the fight.
?I think Barrera is so respected that everybody gives him a chance. He?s such a smart fighter and I think the odds will go down come fight week once the Mexican money comes in,? said Arum on the phone.
Ticket sales, according to the Top Rank president, is doing extremely well.
?We?re only 1,400 tickets short of a sell-out. We?ve sold 10,000-plus tickets. There?s no question about a sell-out because we sell many tickets on fight week,? Arum added.
The fight is set at the 12,000-seat Events Center of Mandalay.
Arum admitted that Barrera is indeed a threat to Pacquiao, whom Dela Hoya said is ?more popular than the (Philippine) President (Arroyo).?
?He (Barrera) is most dangerous, always at his best and is a consummate warrior. And because of his style, experience and ability, poses a tremendous challenge.
?But Freddie Roach reports to me that training went very, very well in the Philippines. Nobody, nobody trains as hard as Manny Pacquiao,? the legendary promoter said.
