Marco Antonio Barrera's Time is Running Out
Published: December 17, 2006 by The Bohol Standard
Over three years and counting. The amount of time that has passed since Marco Antonio Barrera was unexpectedly dominated by Manny Pacquiao on route to being knocked out in eleven rounds.
Barrera was on the receiving end of a beating bad enough to make most writers call for an immediate retirement. They said he turned old overnight. No longer was he thought of as the once great warrior that beat such fighters as Naseem Hamed, Erik Morales and Johnny Tapia.
After the loss to Pacquiao, it appeared as if Barrera was going to call it a career. His pos-fight interview seemed to indicate that he was unsure if he was going to continue to fight. To the surprise of many, he did continue to fight and reclaimed his spot among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.
It wasn't as easy as it sounds.
He came back against Paulie Ayala, stopping him for the first time in his career within ten rounds. An impressive return, but the boxing public was still not fully convinced that Barrera was back in full swing. Ayala was a good fighter, nobody can dispute that fact. But, he was also on the downside of his career and had very little punching power.
Barrera sensed that he would need to do something big in order to prove to the public that he was actually still the same fighter. No better way to make a statement than signing a contract for a trilogy bout with Mexican rival Erik Morales.
At the time, Morales was at the very least considered the third best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. Morales moved up to the super featherweight division and was coming off spectacular performances over Jesus Chavez and Carlos Hernandez, picking up two super featherweight titles in the process.
Barrera had to move up to 130-pounds in order to fight his foe for the third time, a weight class that he admitted prior to the bout was "too heavy for him." As most can imagine, 95% of the boxing writers picked Morales to take Barrera apart and knock him out inside the distance.
Just when you know all the answers about Barrera, he changes the questions. He stepped in the ring with Morales for the third time in November of 2004, and the two Mexican greats waged a war that some said was their best meeting yet. The slugfest was good enough to capture 'fight of the year' honors and shot Barrera back into the pound-for-pound rankings. He walked away with a majority decision, but more importantly he regained the respect he lost in the ring with Pacquiao.
The win over Morales was one the best performances of Barrera's career. It was now apparent that his loss to Pacquiao was the result of one of three things. Either Pacquiao was that much of a better fighter that night, Barrera had a very off night, or maybe a combination of the two.
Barrera beat a few more good fighters since 2004, but none of them were on the level of a Morales or a Pacquiao.
The win over dominating win over Barrera turned Pacquiao into an overnight sensation in the sport and the most popular Filipino on the planet. Pacquiao left in his own direction following the win over Barrera by taking on the best fighters in his weight division and beyond.
He came within a hair of beating Juan Manuel Marquez, decisioned Oscar Larios and won two of his three meetings with Erik Morales. The wins over Morales were just as big as the wins over Barrera because he brutally knocked Morales out in final two encounters. The third was a three-round domination that saw Morales get knocked down three times, and choosing to take a full count instead of continuing to receive punishment.
Barrera was less than impressive in his first meeting with Rocky Juarez, but he did show that still had the ability to dig deep in the late rounds to pull out a decision win. He came back in the rematch to dominate Juarez for twelve rounds. The same could be said for Pacquiao in his initial loss to Erik Morales. The fight was a war, and Pacquiao came back in dominating fashion in the proceeding bouts.
The year is almost over and so is the cat and mouse game between Barrera and Pacquiao. The WBC has called for an agreement to be reached between both fighter by January 12, or they will hold a purse bid in Mexico City to make the fight.
Barrera is much closer to retirement than Pacquiao. He vowed to once again face his Filipino nemesis before the final sendoff. Now is the time to back it up or pack it in. For the sake of his career, the Pacquiao bout must be made now - and not later.
There are legal hurdles to overcome. Pacquiao is stuck in the middle of a legal war between Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions and Bob Arum of Top Rank. He signed a contract with both companies and a vicious legal war has begun to determine which promotional outfit has the legal right to promote him.
For the moment he is siding with Arum, and Barrera recently told BoxingScene writer Brent Matteo Alderson that he made a promise to himself that he would step in the ring with Pacquiao and get his revenge.
In the past Barrera said he was facing other fighters to allow Pacquiao to build himself up to where the rematch would be one of the biggest bouts in the sport. After an unbelievable 2006, Pacquiao can't possibly get any bigger at the moment.
If Barrera ends 2007 without a Pacquiao bout, he is robbing himself more than anyone else. If he really wants to prove to himself that the first meeting was a fluke, he must take the plunge and sign the contract. A win over Pacquiao would certainly catapult his career to receive higher recognition than rival Erik Morales.
If he loses, at least he tried and went out on his shield - like Morales. After Morales was stopped by Pacquiao in their second meeting, there no tuneups, no time to waste and no excuses. Morales exercised his option for an immediate rematch within weeks, he did not wait for over three years.
For Barrera, the time is now.
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