LOS ANGELES-As far as Marco Antonio Barrera is concerned, the Baby-faced Assassin from Mexico will be back on top of the ring on Nov. 27 but nothing is sure yet as to who will he face next.
According to Marylyn Aceves, chief of public relations for Golden Boy Promotions, the outfit which is promoting Barrera, the Saturday fight date has been sealed for the possible pay-per-view event.
But still, no opponent has been announced yet and two possible options are being considered-Manny Pacquiao or Mike Anchondo.
Preliminary negotiations between Pacquiao’s New Jersey-based promoter Murad Muhammad and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schafer have not produced concrete results.
“We are considering the best options for Marco Antonio Barrera. Definitely, he will fight on Nov. 27,” said Aceves, who also mentioned the name of Anchondo as an attractive option.
Barrera, who recently won his comeback match by knocking out Texas’ pride Paulie Ayala in 10 rounds, has an unfinished business with Pacquiao, the man who took his “People’s Champion” belt last year.
Pacquiao dominated Barrera and won by knockout in the 11th round at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Pacquiao then challenged Mexican double champ Juan Manuel Marquez last May and settled for a controversial draw. As of press time, the Filipino is still waiting for his next opponent as Marquez and his promoters decided to fight untested and young Orlando Salido.
The Marquez-Salido IBF featherweight championship will be the appetizer to the Sept. 18 mega-fight encounter between legendary fighters Bernard Hopkins and Oscar De La Hoya, who is also the big boss of Golden Boy Promotions.
The 30-year-old Barrera, 58-4 (41 Kos), has expressed his desire to go after Pacquiao and reclaim the glory and title that belonged to him and the prestigious Ring Magazine belt now worn by the General Santos southpaw.
Barrera was not able to avenge two of his losses to Junior Jones early in his career but he proved resilient in another determined comeback, successfully avenging a controversial loss to arch-rival Erik Morales, who is now campaigning in the heavier super-featherweight class.
A match with the unbeaten 22-year-old Anchondo (25-0, 18 Kos), who also campaigns in the super-feather division, would mean Barrera could opt to climb a notch higher and aim for a Barrera-Morales III, should he emerge victorious.
High on Pacquiao’s list of alternative opponents include WBC champ In Jin Chi of South Korea and WBO kingpin Scott Harrison of England. Pacquiao and his local managers are mulling to stage a fight in the Philippines if Muhammad fails to come up with a fight contract soon.
