IT was a different, more physically fit Marco Antonio Barrera that fought Manny Pacquiao Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay.
The end result, however, was the same as the first time they met, as Pacquiao defeated Barrera, this time scoring a convincing 12-round unanimous decision in a bout that was watched by 10,112 paying fans at the landmark Las Vegas venue.
Pacquiao showed unusual wit against Barrera, with Pacquiao?s new-found ring craftiness coupled with his commonplace quick and astute reflexes bewildering the Mexican icon throughout their highly anticipated return encounter.
There were no knockdowns in the fight but it was never devoid of action, which was initiated mostly by the younger Pacquiao.
Judges Glenn Trowbridge and Jerry Roth each scored it 118-109, while Tom Schreck had it 115-112 in a lopsided tally that surprised a few.
?Before the fight we knew he will box me. We prepared for that and I know he is still tough that is why I was a bit cautious,? said Pacquiao. ?I was never overconfident for this fight.?
?We really prepared my right hand for this fight. I know he will be in trouble if I use more jabs.? Pacquiao added. ?He is really tough and he also prepared for this fight.?
Baby-Faced Assassin hangs his guns
?HONESTLY, this is my last fight,? said Barrera ?He had a very good defense, and it was hard to break through.?
?I?m sad because I lost, but he hit me with very few punches, very few combinations. I thought I controlled him with my left hand all night,? Barrera added. ?I?m happy we?re finishing off [my] career with that.?
Before the official verdict was announced, Pacquiao gained the appreciation of the crowd which the Filipino warrior acknowledged by standing onto the ropes in the neutral corner.
?Who me, hurt? Well, not really. I just prepared hard for this fight. We?ll see if we will again prepare in Cebu for my next fight,? said Pacquiao. ?I never underestimated him and there are no hard feelings. Outside the ring, we are friends. This is business and we did our best to give a good fight.?
When it was his turn, Barrera got a mixture of boos and applauses as he was lifted by one of his cornermen.
Barrera, more conditioned now than when they first met in 2003, said he just wanted to avoid another humiliating knockout loss.
?This is my last fight. People were saying Pacquiao will knock me out inside three rounds but here I am right now able to last 12 rounds,? said Barrera. ?Tonight, I say goodbye to this beautiful sport. I?ve fought with the best and I?m happy with my decision.?
Barrera said the difference between his two fights with Pacquiao is that he never was seriously hurt in Part Two.
?The difference between this fight and the first one is I felt all of his punches the first time. Tonight, I did not feel them. But he is still very big, very strong,? Barrera said.
His loss Sunday was the second straight for Barrera. Barrera lost his World Boxing Council (WBC) super-featherweight crown to another Mexican, Juan Manuel Marquez, via unanimous decision just last May, also at the Mandalay Bay.
Wait and see
ONLY one fighter stands out as the top marquee match-up for Pacquiao in this weight division.
?The way Pacquiao has been going through Mexican fighters? Well, we have one for him, with the initials?JMM.?? said boxing superstar Oscar de la Hoya, referring to Juan Manuel Marquez.
De la Hoya, owner of Golden Boy Promotions, copromoted the Pacquiao-Barrera rematch alongside ex-boss Bob Arum of Top Rank Inc.
The 33-year-old Marquez, currently the WBC super-featherweight ruler, holds a 12-round split draw verdict with Pacquiao, a fight that keeps the boxing world polarized when debating about the outcome of that May 2004 bout.
But the possibility for a Pacquiao-Marquez II will only happen if Marquez beats Rocky Juarez of the US in their WBC title encounter on November 3 in Las Vegas.
?Certainly, people want to see Pacquiao against Marquez,? Arum said during the postfight press conference.
In the same presser, undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) super-featherweight champion Joan Guzman publicly challenged Pacquiao to a square-off soon.
?When are you going to fight me,? Guzman kept shouting at Pacquiao.
Guzman told reporters that will he take on all-comers and made it clear that he feels Pacquiao is avoiding a fight with him.
Guzman would have to deal first with Humberto Soto on November 17 in Atlantic City.
Another potential foe is WBA 130-lb kingpin Edwin Valero of Venezuela, a feared knockout artist with a record of 22-0 with 20 knockouts.
The Japan-based Valero, 25, served as one of Barrera?s sparring partner in preparing for Pacquiao. Valero, however, is banned to fight indefinitely in the US after suffering an injury to his skull because of a motorcycle accident years ago.
Valero, who claims to have recovered fully from that injury, is appealing the ban.
?If we cannot do it in the United States then let?s do in China [Macau],? was what Valero told Filipino scribes who covered Pacquiao?s conquest yesterday.
Another development in that presser is the planned invasion of Pacquiao in the lightweight division which the boxer himself, together with American trainer Freddie Roach, announced.
Pacquiao wants to challenge one-time Erik Morales conqueror David Diaz, the current WBC lightweight ruler.
In their epic encounter for Marquez?s World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight tiaras three years ago, Pacquiao floored Marquez thrice in the first round.
Showing tremendous resiliency, Marquez counterpunched his way back into fighting form as he was able to salvage a draw. Disputes in their respective fight purses shot down the planned rematch, especially after Marquez overpriced himself and turned down a $900,000 offer to fight Pacquiao in a rematch.
The ludicrous choices saw Marquez toil in second-tier fights and even traveled to the backwoods of Indonesia for a paltry $30,000 in a failed bid to regain the WBA title that was stripped away from him.
Nearly slipping into boxing obscurity, Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) came to the rescue and signed Marquez to a promotional deal and finally made him the ?Chosen Juan? to fight Barrera.
Speed, skills favor Pacman
PACQUIAO and Barrera used the first three minutes of the fight dissecting each other?s moves.
In the second round, Pacquiao pressed the action. He caught Barrera with his trademark left straight that seemed to have piqued Barrera.
The exchange of punches gradually escalated in the next two rounds as Barrera gained some success counterpunching Pacquiao. Barrera gave Pacquiao little but telling trouble by backing up and moving sideways in avoiding the Filipino?s vaunted blitz.
In the second half of the12-rounder, Pacquiao forced Barrera to slug it out more, a situation that favored the aggressive-punching Filipino fighter.
The disparity in speed showed up starting in the eighth as Pacquiao, 28, attacked Barrera, 33, relentlessly.
In the 11th round, Barrera again tried to summon his once fiery form by staying in front of Pacquiao and exchanging debilitating blows.
What showed up, however, was an old Barrera who could not anymore stand against a young and ferocious fighter like Pacquiao.
Barrera was subtracted a point in the 11th for hitting Pacquiao with a strong right punch during the break. Before that, Barrera suffered a deep cut below his right eye after a short but furious exchange somewhere in the 11th canto.
In their first encounter last November 2003 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Pacquiao steamrolled Barrera on his way to a spectacular 11th-round stoppage win.
Since losing to Pacquiao in 2003, Barrera scored six straight victories most of which against formidable challengers like Paulie Ayala, Rocky Juarez and bitter compatriot Erik Morales in a WBC super-featherweight title fight.
With the victory, Pacquiao added Barrera to his dominance of Mexicans, which includes the shellacking of future Hall-of Famer Erik Morales.
Pacquiao can complete his reign over Latino fighters with a win over Marquez should they meet.
