Mzonke “Fantastic” Fana is doing two things he usually doesn’t do.
He is fighting outside of South Africa.
He’s fighting a boxer people actually know.
Fana has only once in his career fought outside his home turf, and that journey produced one of his two losses. He also has never gone against a single fighter that most hard-core fight fans would recognize.
That all changes Saturday night when Fana (22-2, 8 KOs) steps into an El Paso ring against one of the greatest living fighters on the planet – Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera.
On a card televised by HBO pay-per-view from the Don Haskins Center, Barrera (59-4, 41 KOs) will put the World Boxing Council Super Featherweight title on the line against Fana.
Barrera won the belt last November from Erik “El Terrible” Morales. Fana is the WBC No. 1 contender.
On paper, it looks like an incredulous mismatch, but in the ring people might be surprised. At least, that’s what boxer and promoter Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions is saying:
“Just because the American public doesn’t know a fighter, doesn’t mean he’s not going to surprise you,” De La Hoya said Tuesday in a teleconference.
“Fana has prepared himself for the fight of his life, like Pacquiao did when he fought Barrera and like Felix Sturm did against me. This is going to be a hell of a fight. Guys like Fana can come out and surprise you.”
De La Hoya has a point. Hard-core boxing fans already were keeping an eye on Pacquiao when he stunned us by stopping Barrera in November 2003. But not too many of us were giving Sturm half a chance when he nearly pulled off the upset against De La Hoya last year in Vegas.
But does a massive underdog like Fana really have a shot against a boxer as good as Barrera?
“I am very, very happy to be an underdog,” Fana said Tuesday. “I fight much better when I’m an underdog. What can I say? I am ready for this fight.
“I rate Barrera as one of the greatest boxers in the world. But I think I am one of the best in the world, too, and I will prove it. I know I’m fighting a legend, but on Saturday, we’ll see who’s best.”
There is only one tape available on the 31-year-old Fana. That is his last fight, 12-round war against previously undefeated Randy Suico (21-1, 17 KOs) to determine the No. 1 WBC spot. Fana was down twice but managed to outhustle Suico for a split decision win.
“I showed my heart,” Fana says.
“On Saturday, I will show the world that if Barrera wants to fight, I can fight. If he wants to box, I will box. And I will outbox him.”
While Saturday’s main event has its question – Can Fana really box with Barrera? – the co-main does not. It’s a solid match-up that might steal the show.
In a World Boxing Organization Super Flyweight title fight, Ivan “Choko” Hernandez (20-0-1, 13 KOs) defends his belt against highly rated Fernando Montiel (29-1-1, 23 KOs).
It’s an intriguing match.
Montiel’s sole loss is a majority decision to former champ Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson. Hernandez got the WBO belt after taking a risk by jumping up in competition to fight Johnson and scoring an eighth-round knockout.
Whether Hernandez’s win over Johnson was a fluke (probably not) or whether the young 22-year-old is going to be marked as the champ at 115 pounds could be decided against Montiel.
Also scheduled to fight:
Abner Mares (2-0) of Guadalajara, Mexico, takes on Leocadio Manon (12-4) from the Dominican Republic in a six-round super bantam bout; David Rodriguez (18-0) of El Paso takes on John Turlington (4-4-1) of Sullivan, Mo., in a four-round heavyweight match; Aaron Garcia (2-0) of Vista, Calif., takes on Santa Fe’s Bryan Garcia (7-12) for six rounds at junior lightweight; Vicente Escobedo (1-0) of Woodland, Calif., fights Jose Rodriguez (3-2-1) of San Antonio in a 6-round junior lightweight bout; El Paso’s Rene Armijo (3-1) fights Abdias Castillo (6-8-1) of Austin in a four-round junior middle match; Lamont Peterson (6-0) of Washington, D.C., is up against Oscar Perez (1-2) of Springdale, Ark. in a four-round junior welter bout; and Anthony Peterson (4-0), Washington, D.C., is unmatched for a four-round junior welter fight.
Tickets for “Viva Mexico!” are priced from $30 to $100 and are available at Ticketmaster locations or by calling (915) 544-8444.
