THE WORLD’S best featherweight and junior lightweight are in hot pursuit of the planet’s purest warrior at 130 pounds.
Manny Pacquiao, whose epic victory over Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003 catapulted him into superstar status, and Barrera, who has rebounded from that loss to capture the 130-lb crown with a victory over Erik Morales in their rubber match also last year, are both eyeing another crack at Morales within the year.
Yesterday, promoter Bob Arum, in an interview with Boxingscene, said he relishes the idea of putting up a double-header sometime in September with Morales and Pacquiao topbilling a card against separate opponents and if both come out victorious, a rematch will then be made in December.
Arum, however, warned that this scenario is contingent on Pacquiao’s handlers — Shelly Finkel and Murad Muhammad — coming to terms regarding their highly publicized squabbling over pay-per-view incomes derived from the March 19 bout between Pacquiao and Morales.
Pacquiao, who had earlier indicated he will now be more involved in his own business affairs, was set to leave for the United States last night to settle his pay-per-view problems with Muhammad as well as the alleged non-payment of his taxes due the IRS since he started fighting in the United States.
Barrera, following his two-round destruction of Mzonke Fana, has hinted that a fourth bout with Morales is preferred over a rematch with Pacquiao.
Barrera said he has “everything to lose and very little to gain” by beating Pacquiao at this time.
“Right now it doesn’t make sense to fight Pacquiao, he just lost a fight with Erik Morales,” Barrera told Boxingscene’s Rick Reeno. “Everyone will say I beat him because of what happened in his last fight.”
