There are plenty of bloody images that come to mind when thinking of Argentinean wild man Jorge Rodrigo Barrios. Nicknamed ?La Hiena?, Barrios was born in the town of Tigre in the Buenos Ares province of his native land and has thus far compiled a record of 50-4-1 with 35 knockouts while briefly laying claim to the WBO junior lightweight crown.
Barrios built up a sterling record in Argentina before introducing himself to American audiences with his clash against Brazilian powerhouse Acelino Freitas in August of 2003. Freitas? stock was extremely high but he got all he could handle from the very game Barrios on this night. Barrios would drop Acelino twice late before being dropped himself with a chilling right hand to close the 11th round. Blood streaming down his mug and stumbling all over the ring in the 12th, Barrios was in no shape to continue as referee Jorge Alonso called a halt to the action. Barrios? valiant effort in defeat left quite the impression and you had to wonder where he would pop up next.
Four fights later Barrios would have the benchmark performance of his career as he faced off with unbeaten champion Mike Anchondo, who had a lot of buzz coming into the contest but shocked everyone by weighing 4 ? pounds over the junior lightweight limit for their scheduled bout. Sensing that his foe was out of sync, Barrios jumped on Anchondo from the get go and finished him off in the 4th round as the WBO championship was now all his own.
Almost a year and half later Barrios would lose his title to tricky Dominican Joan Guzman as he surrendered a decision at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas underneath Marco Antonio Barrera?s rematch with Rocky Juarez. Barrios applied much pressure but he was edged out by Guzman, who had a little bit too much guile and craft on this particular night.
Interestingly enough it was Juarez who would hand Barrios his next defeat nearly two year later in Houston, Texas. Barrios seemed well on his way to victory in this fight, easily befuddling Juarez and controlling the action despite losing points in rounds three and ten for low blows. Barrios slowed in the 11th and this sealed his fate as Juarez upped the pressure and tore Barrios’ lip after a stinging combination. With part of his lip streaming in the air and blood gushing all over, the bout was waived off and Barrios suffered a TKO loss.
Since that heartbreaking defeat Barrios has flown under the radar by winning three bouts in Argentina against pedestrian opposition. He is slated to return on December 18th as the proverbial sacrificial lamb for come backing former champion Erik ?El Terrible? Morales in Tijuana, California. The bout was at first rumored to be an attraction to the Jean Pascal-Bernard Hopkins par per view event, but the light heavyweight showdown is now being featured as strictly a Showtime attraction.
Morales? most memorable moments seemed to come in the late prime of his career as he engaged in thrilling battles with Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao in the Las Vegas area. He has shown more spirit than expected since returning earlier this year against Jose Alfaro and his follow up stoppage over Willie Limond was mildly surprising. If Morales can get past Barrios, a bout which will be for the WBC Silver light welterweight title, he could possibly find himself facing off with Mexico City?s Juan Manuel Marquez in early 2011.
Given the history of both fighters you have to favor Morales, as he is simply a different class of fighter and has fought the better competition throughout his career. But if Barrios has shown us anything, it is that he will always make the night interesting and he is often full of surprises. He very well may be beaten down by Morales but it should be a lively affair while it lasts.
