LOS ANGELES ? Marco Antonio Barrera was once known as the Baby-Faced Assassin. Today, he?s no longer baby-faced. The Mexican is more like battle-scarred. And as for being an assassin, Barrera is hardly the frightening gladiator he used to be.
Manny Pacquiao turned Barrera?s world upside down when the Filipino slugger stopped him to become the undisputed featherweight boxing champion last November.
Before the Pacquiao massacre, Barrera was ranked No. 3 in the honor roll of the world?s best fighters, pound for pound. After the fight, the Mexican was stricken out of the top 10 and Pacquiao broke in at No. 5.
It took Barrera seven months to return to the ring. There was talk he would hang up his gloves particularly as news leaked out that he had a metal plate in his head. But Barrera was determined to prove himself to Oscar de la Hoya who signed him to a Golden Boy contract last year.
