Marco Antonio Barrera, 63-5, 42 KO?s, Vs. WBC International Super Featherweight Champion Manny Pacquiao, 44-3-2, 35 KO?s, will be set for 12 rounds and will take place this Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Their first fight ending in an eleven round TKO victory for Pacquiao set the PacMan on the path to international stardom and left Barrera seemingly at the end of his career. Pacquiao?s worldwide acceptance and star has been enhanced since this encounter with definitive knockouts of former champion Erik Morales (twice), Hector Velazquez, and Oscar Larios. Barrera has managed a comeback with a close loss to Juan Manuel Marquez and victories over Paulie Ayala, Erik Morales and 2 wins over Rocky Juarez.
The questions are: Is Pacquiao focused on this fight? Has he devoted enough attention to boxing to be at the top of his game? Does Barrera have the energy and power to overcome the devastating defeat he suffered in the first fight? Has his age and accumulative ring wars finally, really, caught up with him? I believe the potential is there for a terrific fight. Pacquiao has to prove once again that he deserves all the accolades and Barrera must show once again that you can never dismiss him as a dangerous opponent.
Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) and Cerveza Tecate certainly believe in the potential of this fight. Tecate, one of Mexico?s leading beer brands, in association with GBP, has thrown its hat firmly in the middle of the boxing arena. Carlos Boughton, brand manager for Tecate international, stated in an interview, ?Being able to support the Barrera vs. Pacquiao fight through an integrated campaign is the most exciting way for Tecate to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.? He also stated ?We recognize how boxing is growing in popularity among Hispanics, and believe the October 6 fight will solidify Tecate?s presence as a major sponsor of the sport. We look forward to collaborating with Golden Boy Promotions on additional upcoming events.?
Tecate?s boxing platform includes sponsorships of ?Boxeo en esta Esquina,? ?LO Mejor de Boxeo en Esta Esquina? and the title sponsorship of ?Solo Boxeo Tecate,? Three popular boxing programs on Telefutura and Galavision. Tecate has definitely decided to be a major player in boxing events starting triumphantly with the recent DelaHoya-Mosley bout. The Barrera-Pacquiao fight is one of many hotly anticipated match-ups.
Pacquiao was dominate over Barrera in their first encounter and hopes to repeat that success. He has the tools to achieve this goal and if his heart and conditioning are as they were previously, Barrera could be in a lot of trouble. By all accounts, Manny is one of the hardest punchers the division has known and the rapidity of his punches has proven overwhelming to most of his opponents.
Barrera is one of the sports true greats; however, he is 33 years of age and has been through many ring wars. People keep writing him off and he continues to shrug off his detractors as he does most punches, and comes back harder and stronger. I am hoping that this is one of those times.
There was a time not to long ago, that Manny would focus on the head of an opponent. He has become more rounded recently and has added an inside attack that is devastating. Manny may now be the most complete fighter, offensively speaking, active today.
History is on the side of Manny Pacquiao. It seldom happens that someone who was as soundly beaten as Barrera was in that first fight is able to come back victoriously against the same opponent. There is the case of Floyd Patterson after losing his heavyweight title to Ingemar Johansson. After suffering many knockdowns and a stoppage in their first fight, Patterson was able to find the heart and ability to twice knockout Johansson in rematches. However, Johansson was really a one-punch wonder and regardless of how effective that one punch was, found himself at a disadvantage once his limited arsenal was exposed. There have been others, but not many and Pacquiao has no such limitations.
Some experts felt that Juan Manuel Marquez was able to usurp some of Manny?s power and mystique. They also feel that Barrera, who is known for his ability to outbox sluggers and punch out boxers, will be able to apply what he learned from the Marquez-Pacquiao fight and win the rematch. This is exactly what makes this match so interesting.
I am looking forward to attending this bout and cheering for a good fight. I would have to choose Manny Pacquiao to come out of this encounter with his hand raised in victory. At 28, he in his prime and under the training of Freddie Roach has improved considerably from the first time these two met. I also expect Barrera to be better prepared and less distracted. Regardless, the result should end as the last one did, with a late round stoppage in favor of the PacMan.
On the under card, Francisco Bojado, 17-2, 12 KO?s, takes on Steve Forbes, 32-5, 9 KO?s, and Librado Andrade, 25-1, 19 KO?s, takes on Yusef Mack, 24-3, 12 KO?s.
