MEXICAN legend Marco Antonio Barrera has regarded his second meeting with Filipino super featherweight superstar Manny Pacquiao as the biggest fight of his career.
That is why the three-division world champion is working hard to avenge his Nov. 15, 2003 11th round TKO loss to Pacquiao when they meet again on Oct. 6 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Resort Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
According to Golden Boy Promotions vice president and international matchmaker Eric Gommez, Barrera is not taking the fight lightly.
“Barrera is treating this fight as the biggest fight of his career, bigger than the Naseem Hamed fight, bigger than the Erik Morales fights,” Gomez said in a report posted at Philboxing.com.
With this kind of dealing, Barrera is expected to show his very best because this fight would probably the last of his illustrious career.
Barrera’s preparation started late July and he has employed the services of two Japanese fighters as his sparring partners.
Sendai Tanaka, who is a known close friend of Barrera, has sent the undefeated Takahiro Aoh, a 23-year-old super featherweight campaigner, to spar with Barrera.
Aoh, like Pacquiao, owns a good lateral movement and has good timing in moving his head and body from side to side. He is also a good counter-puncher and times his combinations well.
Aoh has a professional ring record of 15-0, 8 KOs.
The second Japanese sent to Barrera’s camp is Yoshimitsu Yashiro, a lanky 5-foot-9 southpaw who is also unscathed in 18 fights, 10 via knockouts.
The 27-year-old Yashiro is a more aggressive fighter than Aoh.
Another Japanese southpaw is scheduled to join his countrymen to prepare Barrera for this encounter.
Good money
The Barrera camp is reportedly paying good money for these sparring partners.
Barrera, who lost his WBC super featherweight belt to compatriot Juan Manuel Marquez last March, is bent to avenge his loss to Pacquiao at all cost—that includes using the tactics that earned him a widely-criticized unanimous decision win over Rocky Juarez back in September last year.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao’s second sparring partner, Raymundo “Sugar” Beltran, is set to arrive in Cebu today and is scheduled to spar for three rounds with the Filipino ring icon along with David Rodela at the RWS International Gym in Punta Princesa.
