Beating Manny Pacquiao has become quite an obsession for Marco Antonio Barrera, who said that his Filipino tormentor has never been out of his mind ?morning, noon and night.?
The Mexican, who absorbed a devastating 11th round knockout to Pacquiao in San Antonio, Texas in 2003, said their Oct. 6 rematch is something he has wished ever since.
?Manny Pacquiao has been an ugly, painful thorn in my side for nearly four years,? said Barrera, now only 15 days away from facing Pacquiao at the Mandalay Bay.
?There hasn?t been a day since our first fight that I haven?t thought of Pacquiao and what I would do to him if we ever fought again,? said Barrera, a former three-time world champion.
Barrera claimed that Pacquiao has tried to avoid him over the last four years.
?(He) has done everything he could to avoid me. But once we signed the contracts to fight, I have done nothing else, but eat, drink and dream of Manny Pacquiao,? he told secondsout.com
?Throughout this training camp Manny Pacquiao has been the only thing I?ve thought of, morning, noon and night. I have never been so focused on an opponent in my entire career.?
Barrera said there?s nothing that Pacquiao and his American trainer Freddie Roach could do to ?escape my fury? before an expected sellout crowd at the Events Center of Mandalay.
?I am finally going to rid myself of a thorn I have had in my side for nearly four years,? added the future Hall of Famer who?s about to wind up his training in Guadalajara.
Yesterday, Pacquiao wrapped up his own training in Cebu City where he?s been since Aug. 14. But before that, he trained a few days in Manila, and a couple more in Los Angeles.
Pacquiao logged 111 rounds of sparring over the last five weeks in Cebu, and plans to do another week of fewer rounds at the Wild Card Gym in LA starting on Monday.
Meanwhile, Roach, impressed with the progress of Pacquiao?s training the last four weeks, yesterday declared the Filipino ring icon is in great shape and 100 percent ready for his much-awaited rematch with Barrera.
?Yes. He?s 100 percent ready for Barrera, definitely. He?s in great shape now. Nothing will change that,? said Roach.
?He gets better as we went along. His condition is good,? said Roach. ? With report from Manny Villaruel
