Manny Pacquiao will be looking for a repeat performance when he takes on Marco Antonio Barrera in a 12-round super featherweight fight on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
Pacquiao simply dominated Barrera in their first meeting on November 11, 2003 in San Antonio, Texas, winning by an 11th-round technical knockout.
The 28-year-old Filipino, with a 44-3-2, (35 KO) record, has blitzed through the best fighters Mexico had to offer since 2003, including Erik Morales, who he knocked out twice, Barrera, Oscar Larios, Emanuel Lucero, Hector Velazquez and Jorge Solis.
The hard-hitting southpaw has only lost once in his last 21 bouts, a close decision in 2005 to Morales in their first encounter.
“Fighting Barrera is a career highlight for me,” Pacquiao said. “I am fully prepared to sacrifice and do everything necessary to beat him. And I will. It’s going to be another exciting night for fight fans.”
In his own world championship trilogy against Morales, fought in three different weight divisions, Barrera also won twice.
Barrera, (63-5, 42 KOs) is a future Hall of Famer, having defeated many of the top fighters in his divisions, including current or former world champions Morales and Naseem Hamed, both undefeated when he faced them, Paulie Ayala, Kevin Kelley, Johnny Tapia and Kennedy McKinney.
The 33-year-old made his professional debut in 1989 and won his first world title in 1995, dethroning WBO super-bantamweight champion Daniel Jimenez.
“Pacquiao and I have one thing in common and that is this is the fight we have most wanted,” Barrera said. “But Pacquiao should have been more careful for what he wished for because he is going to be in the fight of his life.
“The battle is on and I am going to leave the ring as boxing’s new number one pound for pound fighter.”
The undercard is highlighted by the 12-round WBO featherweight title bout between Nicky Cook conqueror Steve Luevano (33-1, 15 KOs) and Antonio Davis.
