It is the fight of his life and possibly even for his life on October 6. Facing any top professional fighter is always a dangerous task but the stakes are raised higher than Ricardo Lois’s blood pressure when your opponent’s name is Manny Pacquiao. While most people would say that boxing is no doubt one of the purest sports out there today, certain fighters can make it more than just that. Vicious destroyers such as Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao can make it a life and death struggle not only to win but to virtually just make it to the finish line.
Marco Antonio Barrera is aware that his life, career, and legacy are all on the line in the very near future. This is why he is leaving no stone unturned as he’s brought in perhaps the only fighter around the 130 pound weight class that can even come close to mimicking the explosiveness that the “Pacman” brings to the table. This man I’m referring to is the Venezuelan knockout artist, underground internet legend, and supposedly recently disfigured in a bar brawl… Edwin “El Inca” Valero.
(22-0, 22 KOs) – How’s that for a professional record?
If there’s anybody that can prepare the veteran Barrera for Pacquiao it is without a doubt Mr. Dynamite. It’s been well documented that Valero assisted Erik Morales prepare for his first encounter with the Filipino icon. It was a fight in which “El Terrible” showed the world exactly why he is one of the greatest fighters of our era and one of the toughest as well.
While Pacquiao definitely has the edge in foot speed over the Venezuelan fighter, it’s the overall aggressiveness, power, and explosiveness from Valero that will give Barrera the looks he needs to properly prepare for the onslaught. I guess Marco figures that in preparation to fight to a hurricane you might as well practice against a vicious tornado. It’s great to see a fighter like Valero agree to work with the Mexico City legend in order to stay sharp himself as well as help out the camp.
I’m fairly certain that if the “Baby Faced Assassin” has any chance at dethroning the “Pacman” early next month, it will definitely show up in his sparring sessions with “El Inca”. We’ll see if any cameras are allowed in that camp as I’m sure the action will provide some serious heat and speculation as to the outcome of the much anticipated rematch.
It is my opinion that should Barrera be able to deal with the onslaught that Valero brings in training camp, he will go into his fight with Pacquiao as confident as possible. It’s an important factor as he won’t have a chance to beat Manny by simply jabbing as he did in the Rocky Juarez rematch. The only way to convincingly dethrone the terror that is this southpaw from the Far East is by fighting hard and boxing in spurts. We’ll see what comes of this training camp as I’m sure all the ears within the industry will be at ground-level trying to decipher who is really getting the best of each other within camp.
Marley… I’m flying down to Guadalajara and getting some footage of this stuff. I might spend some time in Cancun as well doing “other” boxing related stuff. I’ll send you the bill, it shouldn’t be more than ten thousand dollars. Thanks in advance.
