Last Saturday night, Marco Antonio Barrera took his first step back towards regaining his foothold amongst the modern day greats. His dismantling of the once-dangerous and consistent pound-for-pound contender, Paulie Ayala, signalled to fans and critics alike that Marco is determined to claim back what was once his.
Going into the fight, the questions were mostly surrounding Barrera. Is he shot? Can he come back? What was wrong with him the night Manny Pacquiao destroyed him? I had hedged my bets and thought that Barrera would have a little too much size and strength for Ayala to be able to fight his fight, and win. In the end, Barrera?s patience and boxing ability won out and he cruised to a 10th round stoppage over the smaller Ayala. More importantly, questions were answered.
Is he shot? Not at all. Marco?s reflexes appear to be as solid as they were pre-Pacquiao and he stuck to his plan of boxing from the outside and minimising the exchanges on the inside. He used his jab to great effect and because of it, he was able to neutralise Ayala?s aggression, without much trouble at all. This has been Barrera?s style, basically since the first fight with Erik Morales and besides the Pacquiao fight, it had served him rather well.
Usually, one thing to look for in a fighter who has had too many wars is his legs. But, like his reflexes, Barrera?s legs also appeared to be in fine shape. He shuffled around quite a lot and showed Ayala angles and a moving target; something Paulie has always had issues with.
What was wrong with him the night Pacquiao destroyed him? A couple of things; not the least of which was the Filipino terror staring fireballs at him from across the ring. The fact is obvious to a number of fans by now, but at the time Pacquiao was simply overlooked and underrated. He has since proven in his destruction of Barrera and in a terrific effort against WBA and IBF featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez that Manny is no joke.
Pacquiao came into the fight as a former flyweight world champion who, moving up four pounds from junior featherweight, was taking on the best featherweight in the world and arguably a top five P4P fighter. Add to this the fact that Pacquiao had twice been knocked out previously (albeit by body shots) plus he was dropped and hurt on a couple more occasions in separate fights. On that form, it appeared that Manny might not have the chin to go to war with Barrera and be standing victorious at the end. Those suspicions were enough for most fans to look past the smaller Pacquiao and look towards a rubber fight between Barrera and Morales. Was Barrera doing the same thing? It?s hard to say, but it would be out of character for the proud warrior.
The core of the problem that night for Marco, was that the strict ?boxing? style that had been so good to him and helped prolong his career was a recipe for disaster against the super quick and aggressive Pacquiao.
Marco?s jab had been a great weapon against fighters like Johnny Tapia, Enrique Sanchez, Jesus Salud, Kevin Kelly and of course, Naseem Hamed. In those fights, he had the quicker hands and the sturdier base. The three southpaws, (Sanchez, Kelly and Hamed) were either not offensive enough with their left hand to effectively test Barrera?s speed with the jab, both in throwing it and bringing it back in defence. In effect, the jab was the deciding factor in each of these fights and it helped to win and win impressively. His reliance on his jab and basic foot movement, however, would prove to be a major tactical flaw in this fight.
While successful against slower handed, more counter punch-driven southpaws, the Barrera box and counter style was all-wrong against Pacquiao. Barrera?s hand speed just wasn?t quick enough to be successful, and his habit of pulling straight back from straight punches left a gaping hole in his defence.
Manny was always coming forward, pressing Barrera and showing enough head movement, so that Barrera?s jab was having trouble finding its mark. On the rare occasion that he landed flush with a jab, he was quickly countered by two, three and four punch combinations by the much quicker Pacquiao. Barrera?s passiveness just wasn?t enough to deter Manny and because of it, this flaw was exposed on a grand scale.
Now, there was, of course, the confusion in the weeks leading up to the fight regarding Barrera?s medical status and the California fires, which disrupted his training camp. Could this have affected Barrera and lead to his defeat? With the public being made aware of the operation Barrera had undergone some years ago by former handler Ricardo Maldonado, Marco was on the defensive. Having to declare his good health over and over again in the lead up proved problematic. And, of course, the fire caused Barrera?s camp closure 10 days earlier then was planned.
Post fight Barrera?s words were telling, “I couldn’t see a lot of things. I wasn’t really concentrating. I wasn’t feeling like myself, I don’t know what went wrong but it wasn’t me.?
Did Barrera have trouble seeing Pacquiao?s shots because he wasn?t as focused on the fight as he should have been? Or was it just because Manny Pacquiao was the fastest, most aggressive southpaw he?d ever faced? I lean towards a combination of both, because Marco would have to have been negatively affected in some way by pre-fight disruptions. However, no amount of disruption will make anyone forget the constant left hands coming straight through Barrera?s open guard.
Can he come back? That?s the million-dollar question, although it looks to have already been partly answered with his showing against the game Ayala last weekend. Marco displayed the kind of form that he had become his trademark in the lead up to the Pacquiao fight, so on the surface it appears as if he still has it in him.
However, the road to the top of the featherweights still must pass through Mr Pacquiao and I still hold grave doubts that Barrera can be successful against Pacquiao by strictly boxing him from behind the jab. I am not sure that jabbing, moving and countering is the way to solve Manny. Marquez is in my opinion, the finest featherweight technician there is, and I don?t believe he was all that successful in trying to box Pacquiao. Somewhere along the line, you have to halt Pacquiao in his tracks and make him take a backward step, otherwise his continual pressure and volume is going to accumulate and overwhelm you.
This is why Barrera may need to revert back to his old style of ?Mine against yours,? at least for stretches of the contest. Manny seems to have silenced a number of critics who doubted the worth of his chin, myself included. He took what Marquez and Barrera had to offer and barely batted an eyelid. Because of Manny?s aggressive, swarming style, he relies greatly on his stamina; something that a determined body attack can certainly make a dent in. Marco would do well to remember this.
Of course, the other top featherweight on the horizon is Marquez. A superb technician who has terrific counter punching skills as well as sturdy legs, Marquez would also be no easy task for Barrera to overcome. Considering Barrera?s current love for the counter punch, it would not be all that outrageous to call Marquez a bigger, stronger, younger version of Barrera. So this leaves Marco with another problem; could he outbox Marquez? I very seriously doubt he could, based on what each of them brings to the table at this time.
Where does this leave Barrera now though? The overriding theme of all of this is that while I think on current form, Barrera may be able to beat strong featherweights such as In-Jin Chi and Scott Harrison. To succeed against the very best– Pacquiao and Marquez– he is going to need to show a willingness to turn back the clock and attack the body relentlessly. His solid counter punching skills will serve him very well if he is able to convince his opponent that coming inside is not in their best interests. However, one cannot work without the other. Marco must offer up resistance in the trenches or suffer the same fate as last November.
Barrera?s fate ultimately lies within his heart. He knows the pain and torture he suffered at the hands of Pacquiao and by now, I am sure he has worked out what mistakes he made. Can he get his body and mind in tune for the punishment that he may have to take to be victorious? After a long fifteen-year career, it will not be easy.
I, for one, wish the very best for Marco in the future and I hope he has one great run left in him. As both a student of the sport and a fan, I await with anticipation. I?m sure many others do as well.
