If you have ever opened more than one present, then you know what it feels like to be disappointed when one of the gifts did not turn out to be that great at all. It happens to all of us. Whether it be during Christmas, a birthday, or just an item you bought yourself and later felt sorry for the effort put to get it, there is always that one present that you would have rather never gotten in the first place.
Marco Antonio Barrera could find himself in a similar situation. Currently focused on his next task, a bout on March 25 against Jesus Chavez, Barrera may have to face someone that’ has already beaten him if he gets past Chavez, which he probably will.
Once touted as “the next Julio Cesar Chavez”, Barrera is no stranger to rematches. After losing in 1995 to Junior Jones by a disqualification that should have been a knockout defeat instead, Barrera then gave Jones all he could handle in a rematch that could have very well gone either way. And of course, we all know about his classic bouts with Erik Morales, a trilogy that ranks high in there with those of Ali’s trilogies against Frazier and Norton, Gatti and Ward and Leonard and Duran. Although thanks to the opera concert Leonard and Duran gave us on December 7th of 1989, the trilogy between Barrera and Morales can be considered above the one Sugar Ray and Manos de Piedra had.
Boxing is like everything else in life: nothing is a sure thing. Because of that, we shall remember that “the next Chavez” versus Jesus Chavez is still an intriguing fight. After all, Jesus Chavez is a former titleholder. He has fought around the Junior Lightweight division most of his career, while Barrera began at Bantamweight. Whether you like Barrera or not, this is a fact that cannot be avoided: at Junior Lightweight, Barrera is, and always will be, considered the man who is coming up in weight, specially when he fights a boxer who is considered a natural at the division.
Common sense would tell us, however, that Barrera should win this fight. Not that it will be easy, mind you, but he should win it. After all, Chavez comes from a tragic bout last year, and when a fighter dies after a fight, his rival tends to slow down. It happened with Ezzard Charles. It happened with Ray Mancini, who, although still an exciting boxer, was never near the same as he was before he beat Duk Koo Kim. It is pretty much understandable too: if a boxer has a little bit of humanity inside, his or her mind would automatically tell the fighter to be a little bit more careful next time around. Emile Griffith’s trainer said that Griffith lost desire to win fights by knockout after the Benny Paret tragedy. While Jesus Chavez will undoubtedly give Barrera a spirited fight, Barrera will likely win, either by technical knockout or a reasonably comfortable decision.
After this fight, he will find himself at a crossroads. Who will he fight next? Who does he want to fight next?
Barrera is 32 already, an age that is equivalent to social security collection age for boxers in the lighter weight divisions. Just ask Hall of Famers Jeff Chandler and Wilfredo Gomez: Chandler was already retired at age 30, while Gomez was way past his prime by the time he was Barrera’s age. For Barrera, this means that he needs the big fights yesterday.
Granted, Barrera is not known as a champion that has thrown all of his fortune away and he grew up in a middle class family, but where there is money, more money is needed. And Barrera can still make lots of money before 2006 is over. The problem is, the fighters who would give him the most money are men that already beat him: Pacquiao and Morales. Sort of like if Barrera had two gift wrapped boxes in front of him, with one containing a nice present, and the other one having sand waiting to run all over his face; If he doesn’t know which box has the present inside, he could open the one that he will not enjoy.
Unification bouts are also an option. But would you be interested in paying for a bout between Barrera and Vicente Mosquera? No, not Mosquito, Mosquera. Mosquera is the WBA Junior Lightweight champion. At 22-1-1, he does not seem to be bad at all. The catches are that Mosquera does not possess knockout power (only 11 knockout wins), and, the most important reason for this fight not to take place, he is not well known in the United States.
Barrera against Javier Jauregui, the WBC’s number 4 challenger, would make a little bit more sense. Jauregui is also a former titleholder, and he is Mexican, making this matchup a potential hit among their countrymen as well as among Mexican-Americans, but again, taking in consideration everyone else in the United States and Latin America for that matter, do you really think HBO will want to have Barrera against Jauregui as part of their future programming plans?
WBO champion Jorge Barrios would provide Barrera with an interesting dilemma and that fight would be very marketable, because both enjoy popularity across Latin America, and, after Barrios almost sent Acelino Freitas back to Brazil inside a cargo jet in front of a Showtime audience, he is also known by United States boxing fans. It could happen if the IBF allows it, but Barrera is from Mexico, and so is the WBC. The WBC refuses to conduct business with the WBO. We will likely not see these two fight anytime soon, if they ever do.
Which leads us to Erik Morales. Barrera bet all of his last fight’s purse on Morales before Morales’ recent disappearing act against the Pacman. And if that wasn’t reason for Barrera to feel angry at Morales, you can literally bet your house that these two guys would find a reason or two to be angry at each other shall a fourth installment to their series of fights occur.
Barrera-Morales IV would be huge. Their three bouts left us with appetite for a fourth encounter, and Morales would be eager to reestablish his good name in boxing at the expense of Barrera, who surely wouldn’t want to let Morales have it that way. The problem with Barrera-Morales happening soon is, that Morales just got knocked out by Pacquiao, and in boxing, a lot of times a fighter is only as good as his or her last fight.
So who does Barrera have left to think about in this case? Manny Pacquiao. After all, Barrera has never been one to run away from opponents that beat him. But, think about it: Pacquiao tore Barrera apart in their first fight. Would Barrera want to fight Pacman again after being so easily handed the first time around?
Probably so. If you lost last month’s wager to somebody, anybody, wouldn’t you try to get it back? Specially if getting the money back would mean, in your view, regaining your self respect. Mancini spoke about this before his rematch with Livingstone Bramble, who ran over the Italian-American from Ohio like a NASCAR racing car hitting a person at five hundred miles per hour when they first met in June of 1984. Mancini fought Bramble for a second time, because, in his own words, he wanted his self-respect back. And he won it, giving Bramble all kinds of troubles before Bramble won a unanimous 15 round decision in their second bout.
How would Barrera fare in a rematch against Pacquiao? Would he do better than Mancini did in his second fight with Bramble, or would he be beaten again? If January 21 was any indication, Pacquiao is still the world’s 130 pounder, but Barrera has always been a proud champion. When he got off the canvas to beat Kennedy McKinney, he proved it. When he almost defeated Junior Jones in their rematch, he proved it. And he proved it more than ever when he went 24 extra punishing rounds against Morales, obtaining two victories over the Tijuana brawler.
Barrera has had a brilliant career, but now he faces the darkness of mystery in front of him. He is at a crossroads, and crossroads can be dangerous. If you are not careful, you can get hit very hard. But hey, this is boxing. The cold truth is that in boxing, you should accept the fact you will get hit. And Barrera was never one to avoid pain in order to reach the ultimate goal: victory.
