It was as though Manny Pacquiao had never happened.
Using his boxing skills and patient craft, Marco Antonio Barrera stopped Paulie Ayala Saturday night and re-established himself as a player in the featherweight division. After three knockdowns and ten rounds of accumulated punishment, Ayala failed to go the route for the first time in his career.
He had faced plenty of top fighters, Johnny Tapia and Bones Adams twice each, and Erik Morales, albeit closer to the peak of his skills ? but Barrera?s advantages were so astutely applied in the early rounds that the contest was never in doubt.
The question remains as to how much Barrera has left? An opponent like Ayala ? a pressure fighter lacking a big punch, somewhat past his prime ? isn?t wired to test Barrera?s armor, or expose its weaknesses. At this stage of his career, Barrera needs only a big win like this to put himself in line for big fights. Much as I?d like to see him fight Manny Pacquiao again, if I were his management team I?d go for Morales, instead ? it?s the same neighborhood dollar-wise, and a better match for him.
