LAS VEGAS — Marco Antonio Barrera, already down and out in the eyes and hearts of most Filipino boxing devotees, yesterday threw a thundering counter-punch at the site of his Oct. 6 rematch with Manny Pacquiao.
?The Philippines will be shocked,? the 33-year-old Mexican warrior declared with stinging authority.
It was thus the strongest statement on the Pacquiao-Barrera rematch and its impact was readily felt all the way to the Philippines.
?RP shocked already,? said jazz star Richard Merk from his popular club in Makati. ?He talks too much, no headbutts, please.?
Coming from a battle-scarred warrior known to be at his fiercest best when all the odds are against him, it sounded more of a promise than a threat.
Is Se?or Barrera ready for hell on Saturday against Pacquiao, who mauled and stopped him four years ago?
Barrera did not reply. He rolled his sharp, intelligent eyes, then made a hissing, sentimental sigh.
No need to elaborate, he tried to signify.
He had, after all, gone to hell in preparing for the rematch.
?There were great, unbearable sacrifices,? the tough-looking Barrera explained through an interpreter. ?This fight has become very personal to me.?
The affair was the media workout for the main protagonists in the Will to Win card, right at the Mandalay Events Center, venue of the rematch.
While they were expected to give media people a sneak view into their composure and physical form, both Barrera and Pacquiao did not flex their muscles.
Pacquiao, his new, shorter hairdo kept under a reversed baseball cap, did light fancy swinging, more of a lazy dance than a fight strut.
?See you guys,? Pacquiao said as he left.
Barrera later went a step duller. He stepped inside the ring in a red t-shirt and stylish worn-out jeans, took a few steps around, leaned on the ropes at least twice, then descended after flashing a victory sign.
Pacquiao, who jogged around the UNLV campus in the morning, reported for tapering duties at the IBA gym here.
Barrera, looking trim and fit, continued to train in seclusion here, lending credence to claims that he is preparing something special for Pacquiao.
The two combatants go into full view for Thursday?s fight press conference at the House of Blues Music Hall.
It also marks the day when Pacquiao drastically cuts down on food intake in time for the official weigh-in at the Events Center Friday.
In that brief exchange with members of the Philippine media, the phrase used by the Mexican interpreter from Top Rank in mouthing Barrera?s threat was ?The Philippines will be surprised.?
But with the resounding alarm, it?s a big shock, an emotional tidal wave, that will hit the Philippines if Barrera, an awful underdog, makes good his threat.
Meanwhile, veteran referee Tony Weeks has been appointed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to be the third man on the ring on the Pacquiao-Barrera rematch. With a report from Salven Lagumbay, contributor
