Marco Antonio Barrera wasn’t even out of the ring on the night of November 15, 2003 before the whispers had started. “He grew old in there tonight” and “time to hang ‘em up” were just a couple of the cliches being thrown around after Barrera got butchered by that great little warrior from the Philippines, Manny Pacquiao, aka “Pac-Man.” Barrera was favored to beat the smaller man moving up in weight, and his ultimate failure to do so now has fans wondering if there are any bullets left in this assassin’s rifle.
Barrera, not so “baby faced” anymore, will turn 30 years old on January 17th. It seems he should be about 40 by now, and it’s no surprise since Barrera turned pro way back in 1989, when he was only 15 years old. He also has a lot of ring miles on him, dating back to his early career in Mexico, and then most memorably in his breakthrough fight against Kennedy McKinney back on February 3, 1996. That fight marked the inaugural broadcast of HBO’s Boxing After Dark series, and will never be forgotten by the fans who witnessed it.
