Marco Antonio Barrera?s unexpected defeat last Saturday night in Texas was one boxing can ill afford.
Barrera lost his indisputable status as the best featherweight in the world when knocked down twice and stopped in the 11th round by the emerging Filipino Manny Pacquiao.
One must hope that the great Mexican ? a trained lawyer ? is intelligent enough to realise that his time is up, particularly given the recent revelation that he has fought most of his professional career with a metal plate inserted in his head.
But his departure will leave a gaping hole in a sport increasingly struggling to justify column inches across the world.
