LAS VEGAS ? If boxing fans fell in love with the way Manny Pacquiao pummeled David Diaz on Saturday night, the Filipino lefty still believes that nothing compares to the 11th-round stoppage of Marco Antonio Barrera in Nov. 2003 in San Antonio, Texas.
“My best fight ever is when I faced Barrera for the first time,” said Pacquiao, his eyes lighting up, told a handful of scribes on Sunday. “Nothing beats that performance.”
Before a highly-partisan crowd at the Alamodome, Pacquiao made a mockery of Barrera in a fight almost nobody expected he?d win but wound up outgunning the Mexican gunner en route to becoming a force and a big attraction in the lower weight classes.
Apart from Pacquiao?s flattening of Diaz, his most distinguished victories were against South African Lehlo Ledwaba in June, 2001 (Las Vegas), Colombian Jorge Eliecer Julio in June, 2002 (Memphis), Mexican Emmanuel Lucero in July, 2003 (Los Angeles) and Mexican Erik Morales (twice in 2006 in Las Vegas).
When Pacquiao met Barrera in 2003, he was still managed by Rod Nazario, who gave Pacquiao the break to see action on American soil.
Last year, Pacquiao and Barrera tangled in a rematch and it lacked the intensity of their first showdown as Pacquiao cruised to a lopsided 12-round decision.
