Before you build a snowman to hang in effigy take a second and listen up. Manny is taking a breather in his April fight, deservedly so, since he’s been among the busiest of the elite fighters, is entering into a new kind of area which is far more brutal & dangerous than boxing(Philippine Politics), and because his trainer is dedicated a good chunk of his time to a Junior Middleweight a few spots down the pound-for-pound list.
But tucked neatly into the hype of Manny Mania, DeLaHoya and Mayweather, a Klitschko Blowout, and whatever Mike Tyson happens to be doing wrong today is a Jr. Lightweight bout with SIGNIFICANCE. On Saturday night Mexican Legends Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez will finally lace ‘em up and get busy and boxing’s favorite new home, the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for Barrera’s WBC Super Feather strap.
We’ve known all about Barrera for what seems like 20 years. The Baby Faced Assassin has been written off more times than we can count on our fingers and toes but has consistently re-tooled and reinvented himself to versions that outdo the previous. We ripped off the label of “Next Great Mexican Superstar” and tossed him on the heap when he got cold-cocked by Junior Jones, and we got confirmation that we were right when Jones outpointed him and handful of months later. It hardly mattered though, as we had our eyes trained on another Mexican whiz kid named Morales by that time anyways – so Barrera was allowed to slink into the shadows and fight the Whoozits of the world.
When Barrera took the first fight with Erik Morales it was his going away present. Morales was a solid favorite, and was expected to banish Marco Antonio to wherever no-quite-good-enough fighters go to, didn’t turn out that way. Barrera fought brilliantly and reminded everyone of why they watched him to begin with. A star was reborn.
It’s a pattern Barrera is familiar with. We showed him the same treatment as he readied for Naseem Hamed. He proved us wrong. He slipped a bit after what seemed like a loss in a second fight with Morales, and tumbled horribly in getting steamrolled by Pacquiao. We stuck the fork in him, he wasn’t just done – he was well done. Let’s just see him get handled by Morales one more time to be sure. Nope. Back from the dead one more time.
Most recently Barrera has had two tough fights with former Olympian Rocky Juarez and we’ve got that feeling again. Barrera’s too old, too tired. He’s eating too many punches. He’s got a metal plate in his head. Time for pasture…. You Sure?
Early in the new millennium while Morales and Barrera were dominating the boxing section of Mexican Newspapers there was another player quietly coming up through the ranks with a reputation for surgically precise ability, a cold and calculated approach, and the instincts of a shark. After years of fighting in the considerable shadow of his countrymates Juan Manuel Marquez finally broke through in 2003 with a dominating televised world title fight against 100 time champion Manuel Medina and the buzz began. Had we all missed the boat? Was this the best Mexican Featherweight in the world? Marquez went on to win a few more fights before lining him up with the human buzzsaw Manny Pacquiao.
We had just seen the PacMan gobble Barrera up like a plate of longanisa, and hadn’t seen enough of Marquez to draw sufficient conclusions. But within two minutes we thought we knew enough. We knew that Marquez was human and we knew that he was about to be stopped. It was time to strip the “Next Great Mexican Superstar” label from him and put him on the pile. But a funny thing happened on the way to the junkyard. Marquez did the impossible. He withstood the Pacquaio storm and looked downright dominant in stretches of a fight that began disastrously. By the end of the brutal draw Marquez had lost, regained, and then improved his status.
Since the draw with Pacquaio the team surrounding Marquez has alternately sought and turned down offers for a return engagement, while the fighter has looked alternately brilliant and beatable in fights with lesser know, though not necessarily lesser quality fighters. Marquez lost the WBA belt he kept possession of for nearly 3 years while globetrotting to Indonesia in what was supposed to be a keep busy fight with Chris John. The loss forced a re-assessment on how to best position himself for the rematch with Pacquaio, a path desired equally by his dance partner Barrera – and they have come to this end. Two great Mexicans picking themselves up once again, readying for battle, with the loser to be tossed on the proverbial pile.
So who’s going to win the fight to determine who gets Manny back in the ring? Based on the history of these two men surprising us with which side of the win/loss ledger they fall I’d say bet your house on whoever you think is going to lose, and prepare to be wrong again anyway.
