Two boxing superstars are set to square off again when hard-hitting Filipino sensation Manny Pacquiao faces Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera on October 6 from the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. HBO PPV will broadcast the action getting underway at 9PM ET/6PM PT.
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WBC International super featherweight world champion Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao (44-3-2, 35 KO’s), General Santos City, Philippines. 28-years-old, 5’6 1/2″, southpaw, 130 pounds. Trainer Freddie Roach, managed by Shelly Finkel. Style: Pound for pound Pacquiao just might be the hardest hitter in the sport. He is a banger/slugger but what makes him so special is his hand speed, his accuracy and his crowd appeal. Not only in the Philippines but also in the US, Pacquiao has a tremendous following because he fires wicked three, four and five punch combinations that simply detonate on impact. Because he is a southpaw his shots are coming at you from different angles and unlike most lefthanders he isn’t cute or stylish. He will come right at you firing whistling hooks and staggering left crosses from the opening bell.
Significant Bouts: This past April in Texas, the world’s best 130-pounder Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao turned up the heat after suffering a nasty gash in the corner of his left eye and with blood streaming down his face scored an electrifying eighth round knockout over challenger Jorge “Coloradito” Solis. The cut was caused by an accidental clash of heads in the 6th, but with blood continuing to cascade down his profile, the Filipino national hero Pacquiao began unloading his heavy artillery. The former 122, 126 and 130-pound world champion began tattooing the undefeated Solis with wicked right hooks to the jaw and jolting left crosses to the head. Solis’ awkward style had served him well over the first half of the contest, however, early in the 8th, Pacquiao nailed him with a volley of shot before dropping the Mexican challenger with a chopping left cross to the jaw. Solid hit the deck flat on his back and seemed to be on the verge of getting counting out until rolled to an upright position at the count of nine. With a number of Filipino fight fans in attendance in Texas, Pacquiao continued to let his hands go and seconds later he dropped Solis for the second time from a flurry of punches that finished off the challenger with a riveting uppercut to the chin. Again the Solis crashed to the floor and the momentum of his body carried him out on the ring apron and partially under the ropes. Solis valiantly tried to struggle to his feet but he was counted out by veteran referee Vic Drakulich at 1:16 of the eighth round, in a battle for the non-descript WBC International Super Featherweight belt.
In November 2996, Pacquiao finished off his trilogy with his arch-rival Erik Morales, by scoring a resounding victory in their third encounter. Pacquiao recorded an electrifying third round knockout over Morales to win the rubber match in their historical trifecta. Pacquiao’s speed, quickness and power proved insurmountable and he floored the former WBC super bantamweight, featherweight and super featherweight champion in the 2nd, and then twice more in the 3rd, to score the knockout over Morales at the 2:57 mark. Pacquiao repeatedly hurt Morales with scalding right hooks to the head but it was a riveting straight left cross square on the chin that dropped the former four-time world champion for the final time. The blast buckled Morales’ knees, as he crashed backwards against the ropes coming to rest on the seat of his trunks. Despite his cornermen’s pleas to try and rise, Morales knowingly glanced at his seconds and could only shake his head in dismay, aware that his night and possibly his career might be finally over.
Pacquiao lost his first encounter to Morales on a 12 round unanimous decision back in March 2005; however, he captured the rematch when scored a 10th round TKO over the legendary Mexican champion in January of 2006. The third time around it was all Pacquiao, as the Filipino repeatedly beat Morales to the punch. In July 2006 fighting in Manila, Pacquiao hammered out an impressive 12 round unanimous decision over the durable and bloodied Oscar “Chololo” Larios. The three-time world champion Pacquiao’s gift to his fans was an appearance and a successful title defense. Larios held his own over the first half of the encounter and rocked the champion several times in the third round. However, the southpaw Pacquiao turned up the heat cutting the challenger with a whistling right hook over the left eye late in the 3rd, and then flooring Larios in the 7th and again in the final round. There was little doubt that Pacquiao had posted another victory at the final bell and that was reflected on all three judges’ scorecards. Prior to the victory over Morales in their rematch, the Filipino banger was back in action in September 2005 in Los Angeles. Pacquiao hammered out veteran journeyman Hector Velasquez finally dropping him to his knees to score a late sixth round TKO. Prior to his loss to Morales in March 2005, Pacquiao scored a four round TKO victory over Fahsan (3K Battery) Por Thawatchai, in December 2003 in the Philippines. The bout was an IBF featherweight eliminator for the #2 ranking; 3K-Battery hit the deck four times before the fight was stopped. Prior to that fight in May 2004, Pacquiao was involved in one of the most dramatic bouts of the year. Climbing off the deck to go the distance after being dropping three times in the first round is extraordinary. Somehow being able to salvage a draw after suffering a broken nose and swallowing enough blood to drop an ox borders on the miraculous. Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez retained his WBA and IBF featherweight belts because of guts, will; and judging from the scorecards, perhaps divine intervention in earning a 12-round draw against Pacquiao. The Philippine southpaw sensation landed repeatedly in the first round with withering straight left hands to the chin. The hard hitting challenger floored Marquez three times in the opening stanza, busting him up in the process and breaking his nose while reducing the bottom one-third of his face to ground round. Nevertheless, Marquez rallied over the course of the fight to somehow come up with a majority draw.
In November 2003, Pacquiao recorded the biggest win of his career when he scored an 11th round TKO over Marcos Antonio Barrera. It was a brutal night for the fighter nicknamed the “Baby Faced Assassin.” Barrera was overwhelmed and knocked down twice before eventually being halted by Pacquiao in eleven mostly one-sided rounds. One of the most feared featherweights of his generation, Barrera spent most of the evening eating leather before his cornerman Jorge Barrera climbed into the ring and mercifully ended the beating, in the non-title fight. The southpaw IBF junior featherweight king Pacquiao kept Barrera on the business end of his shots from the second round on and repeatedly scored with wicked combinations. In that memorable fight, Pacquiao was down in 1st, Barrera down in 3rd and 11th. Pacquiao first captured the WBC flyweight crown when he scored an 8th rd. TKO over Chatchai Sasakul, in 1998. Constantly battling to make weight, Pacquiao defend the belt once before he was KO’d in three rounds by Medgoen Singsurat, ten months after winning the WBC crown. In June 2001, Pacquiao won the IBF super bantamweight crown by scoring a six-round TKO over Lehlohonolo Ledwaba. Pacquiao would go on to register a number of impressive victories; including Jorge Eliecer Julio (TKO 2), Fahprakorb Rakkiatgym (KO 1), and Emmanuel Lucero (TKO 3).
Strength: Pacquiao is the complete athlete if you are looking for an action fighter. He throws devastating shots with both hands and he delivers the goods with withering accuracy. Pacquiao’s best punch may be his jackhammer right hook; that’s the shot that Morales, Barrera and Marquez didn’t have an answer for when they squared off with the Filipino star. Pacquiao is at his best when he is moving and throwing wicked combinations. He excels at firing and landing a hard left to the body followed by a whistling right hook to the chin. Pacquiao can put you on the deck with either hand, or grind you down with combinations. It is sometimes overlooked in the American press but when Manny Pacquiao climbs into the ring you also get his enthusiastic and electric Filipino fan base. Those loyal fans create a hometown advantage wherever Pacquiao fights. Part of the reason that Pacquiao is so successful and so exciting is the Filipino People and it is one of the key reasons why he’s the number-one gate attraction in the sport.
Weakness: Pacquiao gets hit and part of his allure just like Arturo Gatti, is that he is constantly in high action bouts. He has been on the deck several times over the course of his career and in the past he has been vulnerable to counter right hands. When he controls the tempo of the fight Pacquiao can dictate pace and the punch output. However, as in the Marquez fight, when the action slows down and his opponent starts landing his jab Pacquiao struggles.
——————————————————————————– Marco Antonio Barrera (63-5, 42 KO’s) Mexico City, Mexico. 33-years-old, 5’7″, 130-pounds, trainer of record Rudy Perez. Style: Barrera is the consummate boxer/puncher and former three-time WBO super bantamweight champion, IBO & WBC featherweight champion. Barrera is a future Hall of Famer who can slug, box, turn out the lights, or seemingly always stick his way to another victory. He is the simply the Master Craftsman of his generation from 122 to 130-pounds. Barrera’s record in world title fights is 19-4, with 12 knockouts.
Significant Bouts: This past St. Patrick’s Day in the Nevada desert it was an odd night with strange scoring, phantom knockdowns, and hitting a guy while he was on the deck. In short, it was business as usual in Las Vegas. Stepping up in weight, Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez captured Marco Antonio Barrera’s WBC super featherweight crown by pounding out a 12 round unanimous decision that appeared closer than was reflected on the judges’ scorecards. In the 7th, Barrera appeared to have dropped the challenger with a riveting right cross flush on the chin. With Marquez bent over at the waist and both of his gloves clearly on the deck, the WBC titleholder measured his opponent and drilled the challenger with another right hand to the side of the skull. Referee Jay Nady grabbed the champion around the shoulders and shoved him to the neutral corner, while Marquez tumbled to his backside. The veteran referee ruled that Marquez had slipped and took a point away from the champion for clearly hitting a man who was down on the canvas. Despite the three-point swing in the scoring, ultimately the blown call and the transgression did not effect the overall scoring. When the verdict was announced to the crowd, Judge Patricia Morse Jarman scored the title fight 116-111, while Doug Tucker had it 118-109 and Paul Smith tallied 116-111, all for the new champion Marquez.
Barrera has been in more wars the 101st Airborne Division. In September 2006, boxing, moving, jabbing and then jabbing some more, the three-time world champion and reigning WBC super featherweight king Barrera throttled challenger Rocky Juarez in a rematch of their previous encounter in May 2006. In their first fight, Juarez rocked and bloodied Barrera and on a number of scorecards from press row he seemingly won the fight and the title. However, the California judges gave the razor thin nod to the legendary Mexican titleholder Barrera, after the fight was first ruled a draw when the scorecards were added incorrectly. There were no problems with math skills in Nevada on that occasion. Four months later, the WBC champ made the necessary adjustments against a listless opponent and throttled Juarez for much of the evening closing his right eye with rapier-like jabs and a blistering left uppercut that landed with merciless accuracy and authority. Barrera dominated the contest from the outset in front of the 10,421 paying customers and Juarez never seemed to be able to find his rhythm and rarely the target. Judge Howard Minn scored the bout 117-111, while both Chuck Giampa and Dave Moretti had it 115-113, all for Barrera. In September 2005, he scored a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision over former IBF 130-pound champ Robbie Peden. There were no knockdowns but Barrera dominated the contest from the outset and easily scored a commanding victory on all three judges’ scorecards. For reasons that defy logic, Peden spent much of the fight with his left hand held dangerously low and Barrera repeatedly tattooed the Australian’s profile with ramrod left jabs the entire evening. Judge John Keane tallied 118-109 while both Dave Moretti and Michael Pernick scored the bout 118-108, all for the fighter nicknamed the “Baby Face Assassin.” Prior to the victory over Peden, Barrera recorded a second round KO of challenger Mzonke Fana.
Before that win, Barrera posted the second win in his three-part trilogy with the other legendary Mexican champion of the era, Erik “El Terrible” Morales. The short version to those three epic encounters is brief and simple. Morales won the first fight on the scorecard but many ringside observers and boxing insiders gave the edge to Barrera in February 2000. Almost 2 ? years later they squared off again and it was Barrera posting the victory but once again many insiders gave the edge to Morales. The two arch-enemies squared off for the third and final time and there was little doubt that from either side that Barrera had clearly won the fight. Before the third Morales contest in November 2004, Barrera scored a convincing 10th round TKO win over Paulie Ayala. Barrera dropped Ayala twice in the 8th and again in the 10th before the bout was halted. In November 2003, Barrera suffered one of the hardest defeats of his 17-year career, when he was halted in eleven rounds on a TKO loss to Manny Pacquiao. Barrera was dropped twice before eventually being stop by the Filipino sensation. Barrera never was able to solve the southpaw’s relentless attack and after being knocked down twice the task fell to Marco’s brother, Jorge Barrera to climb into the ring and mercifully bring the evening to a halt in the non-title fight. Pacquiao floored Barrera in the 3rd, with a straight left cross to the chin. Barrera continued to eat leather until Pacquiao floored the renowned Mexican boxer again in the 11th, with a searing three-shot combination that ricocheted off the featherweight star’s skull. Two more riveting blasts to the body drove Barrera to the canvas for the second time. Barrera was able to climb off the deck, however, moment’s later the lefthander trapped Barrera on the ropes and landed a flurry of heat-seeking shots. Barrera’s older brother could no longer endure watching the punishment and climbed atop the ring apron. Referee Laurence Cole immediately called a halt to the fight at 2:56 of the eleventh round.
Barrera first captured the WBO super bantamweight crown more than twelve years ago when he scored a 12 round unanimous decision over Daniel Jimenez, back in March 1995. Barrera would go on and defended that title eight times; Frankie Toledo (TKO 2), Maui Diaz (TKO 1), Agapito Sanchez (UD 12), Eddie Croft (TKO 7), Kennedy McKinney (TKO 12) in a title bout widely regarded as Fight of the Year in 1996. In the contest Barrera was down in 11th, McKinney down twice in 8th, once in 9th, and twice in 12th. Barrera continued his win streak by posting victories over Jesse Benavides (KO 3), Orlando Fernandez (TKO 7), and Jesse Magana (TKO 10). Barrera’s winning ways came to a sudden halt when he lost to Junior Jones in November 1996. Barrera was on the deck twice in 5th and DQ’d when his corner entered the ring. Barrera still was unable to solve the lanky Brooklyn-born super bantamweight and he lost to Jones again via a 12 round unanimous decision five months later in their rematch. Barrera, however, was back on top by October 1998, when he recaptured the vacant WBO 122-pound belt by scoring a four round TKO over Richie Wenton. Barrera made two successful title defenses in halting Paul Lloyd, on a first round TKO when the challenger suffered a deep cut and the fight was stopped. Barrera came back to post a 12 round unanimous decision over the challenger from Argentina Pastor Humberto Maurin. In February 2000, Barrera lost the first of his three encounters with Morales via a 12 round split decision. Within four months Barrera was back on top after scoring a first round KO over Luiz Freitas to recapture the WBO super bantamweight title, following Morales’ decision to relinquish the belt. Barrera defended that title twice more, scoring wins over Jose Luis Valbuena (UD 12) and then Jesus Salud (TKO 6).
Barrera came back with one of the highlight victories of his long career by scoring a convincing win over the master showman “Prince” Naseem Hamed, in April 2001. The former WBO super bantamweight king stepped up in weight and clearly pounded out the 12 round unanimous decision over the previously undefeated featherweight champion Hamed. Barrera was simply the bigger, stronger fighter, and he repeatedly made the awkward boxer from the United Kingdom pay a heavy price for his lack of discipline in the ring. You knew that the Prince was in for a long night when it came time for his melodramatic obligatory ring entrance. There were the usual posses and fireworks, however, as he flew above the crowd strapped into a seated trapeze, Hamed was showered with beer from the Barrera followers. Needless to say, the phase “cerveza por favor” lost its meaning with the irate champion. There were no knockdowns in the contest; however, Barrera rocked Hamed several times over the course of twelve full rounds. Judge Duane Ford and Patricia Jarman-Manning both scored it, 115-112, while Chuck Giampa had it, 116-111, all for Barrera. The BT had it seven rounds to four, with the final round even after referee Joe Cortez deducted a point from Barrera when he rammed Hamed’s head into the ring post. Barrera was back on track and he captured the rematch with Morales before registering a 12 round win over Johnny Tapia, followed by a fourth round TKO over former champion Kevin Kelley. That victory over Kelley in March 2003, was a prep for his encounter with Pacquiao and the fourth loss on his resume.
Strength: Barrera has heavy hands to go along with heart, desire and the ability to change his game plan and adapt over the course of a fight. Early in his career Barrera was mostly a banger who scored wins with brutal left hooks to the liver and whistling right hands down the middle. However, after the two losses to Jones, Barrera became more of a boxer than a puncher. Barrera still had the talent to stop opponents but there was more lateral movement, a ramrod left jab and the skill to set-up his shots. The wheels came off the wagon when he was beaten by a slugger with faster hands in the Pacquiao bout. Nevertheless Barrera is a highly skilled pro that believes he still has a lot left in the tank.
Weakness: Despite being only 33, Barrera has been in a number of wars over the years and as we are fond of saying, there’s only so much tread on the tires. Barrera has struggled against guys who can move, box and can pull the trigger on power shots. It is has been almost four years since Pacquiao stopped Barrera in eleven rounds and the only thing that has changed is the simple fact that Marco Antonio has only gotten older and not better.
Prediction: If you can understand why this one is on Pay-Per-View other than milking Pacquiao’s popularity please explain it to us. Despite being a future Hall of Famer, Barrera is at the end of the line and he is squaring off with a guy with a wicked right hook and a “take no prisoners” approach every time he climbs through the ropes. Scalding right hooks upstairs and enough riveting left crosses down the middle will be the difference yet again when these two square off. We look for Manny Pacquiao to score am 8th round TKO over the talented but fading Marco Antonio Barrera.
