Marco Antonio Barrera sees the Oct. 6 rematch with Manny Pacquiao as a personal battle.
During a recent private meeting with a former scribe in Guadalajara, Barrera said “I am not going to leave anything behind in preparation for this fight.”
Barrera even added an expletive to stress his point, according to former La Opinion columnist Ramiro Gonzalez, who now works as the public relations director for Golden Boy Promotions (GBP), which promotes the Pacquiao-Barrera rumble alongside Top Rank at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
“This (outcome of the fight) will be different,” Barrera said as quoted by Gonzalez.
The Bulletin was able to talk to Gonzales yesterday via overseas call yesterday.
Pacquiao had soundly beaten Barrera when they met in November 2003 in San Antonio, Texas. Since then, Barrera’s avowed objective has been to seek redemption from that loss.
Barrera, Gonzalez said, had badly wanted the Pacquiao rematch and after seeing how Pacquiao took apart Erik Morales, Barrera urged GBP owner Oscar De La Hoya “to put me with Pacquiao” as “it was sad for me to see Pacquiao (easily) handle Erik.”
Gonzalez was with Barrera from Sunday until Wednesday last week and he was on hand when an HBO crew from the US filmed portions of his training at the Gold’s Gym.
“Barrera is very motivated for this fight and a lot of people in Mexico believe him when he said that he will win the fight,” Gonzalez said.
“Barrera runs eight miles everyday starting at 8 a.m. at Los Colomos, which is a nature’s park that had been used in the past by Guadalajara’s football team and Marco is working on his physical conditioning because he admits Pacquiao is fast and he knows what he is really like in the ring,” said Gonzalez.
After the morning road work, Barrera proceeds to the gym at 2 to 2:30 in the afternoon to sweat it out under the supervision of his brother Jorge, who also dabbles in corner work with the help of Japanese Sendai Tanaka, reported Gonzalez.
Barrera’s chief sparring partner is Japanese Takahiro Aoh, ranked eight in the featherweight division by the World Boxing Council and the World Boxing Associations “and fights like Pacquiao.”
Gonzalez added that in anticipation of Pacquiao’s burst of speed, super-flyweight Jorge Arce has also been tapped to help in the training so Barrera can adjust to Pacquiao’s lightning-quick reflexes.
Barrera will remain and train in Guadalajara, where he has a big house he shares with his wife and three kids, until the week before the fight, said Gonzalez.
