Mexican champ 'no longer interested' in rematch

IT'S being billed as the biggest boxing event in 2005, but the projected rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera has crashed before it could take off.

Reason: Barrera no longer wants to fight Pacquiao, who crushed and stopped the Mexican boxing icon in 11 rounds in Texas last year.

Information on Barrera's sudden refusal came from Murad Muhammad, Pacquiao's US promoter, who told journalist Ronnie Nathanielsz yesterday the Mexican champ had a sudden change of heart hours after he wrested the WBC super-featherweight title in a close, thrilling third fight with Erik Morales in Las Vegas.

Barrera's handlers, headed by Oscar de la Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, suggested that Pacquiao instead take on world 122-lb champ Oscar Larios, who outpointed Nedal Hussein in the undercard of the Barrera-Morales bout.

There was ready suspicion Barrera was in fear of Pacquiao, and with good reason.

Barrera could handle Morales' soft punches, but he cannot
handle Pacquiao's power shots.

As shown in the third encounter in Las Vegas on Sunday, Morales lost on points because he did not pack a big one.

Most displeased over the Barrera turnaround were Pacquiao and his chief handler, Freddie Roach.

In fact, Roach had suggested during training in Davao that Pacquiao could skip his scheduled rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez and take on Barrera out right in February.

"Barrera claims his head wasn't right in the first fight against Manny," Roach said. "If he wants to redeem himself, we will be happy to accommodate him."

Then, staring hard, Roach told the Inquirer: "We will be there to give Barrera another bad night."

*********
Afraid he'll have another bad night? MAB will never fully regain lost glory unless he face Pacman in a rematch. He always had excuses for his first loss, but if he ducks Pacman this time, then it is proven that he didn't really had a "bad" night the first time. Pacman legitimately pulverized him fair and square! :eek:

They might be throwing this out there to piss Barrera off and make him look like a *****. If this is true, Barrera is kind of a *****.

"There was ready suspicion Barrera was in fear of Pacquiao, and with good reason.

Barrera could handle Morales' soft punches, but he cannot
handle Pacquiao's power shots."

these line are bs..it make it look fake..its one sided for pac (the article) and no f**king duh this fight aint happening yet..JMM has stated that everything is signed for their rematch in Jan/Feb should pac win his next fight....where did u get this article from????????

its sh8t like this that make me hope JMM/Mab ko's pac..and shuts up roach and pac once and for all...i wanna know where u got this cuz on spanish tv..they had a interview with mab and he said

"i have not decided who to fight next nor have i been contacted by my promoter or anyone other's for fights...what i will do is wait probably for the pac/JMM winner to settle the score...i mean i knw i am old but i think i can do it...i guessi may have to be ko'ed twice to learn (mab laughing) but i believe i can do this"

...this was on hat galavison spainsh thing..i just watch it when spainsh fighters do interviews..it was on last night

They might be throwing this out there to piss Barrera off and make him look like a *****. If this is true, Barrera is kind of a *****.


if barrera never fights again he will never be remembered as a *****, he is a true worrior

The info came from promoter Murad Muhammad. Relax! We'll know if this is true or not sooner than later. :p

Isn't Murad Muhammad the same guy who goes around spreading rumors that turn out to not be true? If he is then I don't believe a word he says.

This article looks like a cover-up to show that Murad still hasnt been able to secure pac's fight with JMM.

I dont think this article is true, i mean ever since he lost he has been saying that he wants pacman. now he actually will get him and he says he doesnt want to fight anymore. IF it is true i will lose respect for him

They might be throwing this out there to piss Barrera off and make him look like a *****. If this is true, Barrera is kind of a *****.


you cant call any fighter that steps in that ring a *****. Especially such an accomplished legend like Marco Antonio Barrera.

I totally agree! If MAB never fights again he will be remembered as one of boxings pound 4 pound warriors. There's no shame in that!

Isn't Murad Muhammad the same guy who goes around spreading rumors that turn out to not be true? If he is then I don't believe a word he says.

I have worked several cards for Murad, and I can tell you he is quite the character! Very BIG EGO!!!

Barrera is smart. He will never beat Pac. There are plenty of other guys he can fight and beat though.

I agree w/Y'all the fact that MAB came back with authority in his last two fights from such a devistating annhilation w/PAC man proves hes not a puss. However, why every one turining on PAC now? He definetly has proven he is on the same par of these mexican warriors! Questions
1)you all hate PAC now cause you think he sux?
2)YOUR JUST ANNOYED W/HIS FANATICAL FANS AND REALY DON'T HATE HIM PERSONALY BUT WANNA SEE HIS FANS SUFFER HUMILIATION
3) Or you only give credit to Mexican boxers and not asian ones?

well WTF is it cause Im sick of hearing all the MAB and PAC bashing both these lil dudes deserve respect! :mad:
sorry but the rant

I can't tell from the article if Murad is telling it as it is or if he's full of it. Only way is to wait and see what happens.

For a guy whose wife has a top position in the IBF, you would think he would have no problem locking up big prizefights for his stars.

I hope Pacquiao fights Marquez or someone of the same caliber very soon. Even though Pac-Man might be taking Fahsan 3K-Battery lightly, the Thai boxer himself has not fought upper-tier opposition himself, and his sparring partner was KO'ed by Pacquiao in the first round not too long ago. They say both have improved tremendously since then, but I'm not so sure from the latest footage (and their latest opposition).

Guess you'll have to find out in December.

From the looks of it, it seems the decision to duck Pacman is not coming from MAB personally, but maybe from the people handling him (could be DLH and Golden Boy Promotions?).
MAB is a great fighter and I'm sure he personally won't turn his back on a challenge like this, specially NOT THIS ONE! His loss to Pacman is unlike his other losses. It's a big, black blot on his record that can never be erased unless he faces him again and prove all skeptics wrong, once and for all. :cool:

Yeah, either way MAB is respected by every boxing fan, But I would love to see him fight Pacman.

i think anyone thats doesnt even give mab a chance at beating pac is an idiot...i am not saying this is an excuse..but that mab that fought before that fight and after (paulie & morales) as not the same one that fought pac..so anything is possible..so i wouldnt be over confident about mab chances here

i think anyone thats doesnt even give mab a chance at beating pac is an idiot...i am not saying this is an excuse..but that mab that fought before that fight and after (paulie & morales) as not the same one that fought pac..so anything is possible..so i wouldnt be over confident about mab chances here

You can never count MAB out as we have learned. Stylewise that is, I just think Manny has his number. The same way Junio Jones did.

Yeah maybe you guys are right but if he will never fight Pacman again then I can say Pacquiao is Barrera's worst nightmare. Put that in history!!!!

I don't put much stock in Barrera, or any other boxer being afraid.

MAB just wanted to stay on top right now. If he can fight other boxers rather than fighting Pacquiao, he'll do so. He knew already Pacquiao's capability as a boxer. He will not train and fight hard with those 2 consecutive wins and let Pacquiao ruin it again. Maybe, he'll fight Pacman again next time if he is ready to retire.

Don't be so gullible people. Barrera's a warrior and he won't back away from anyone, not even from Pac or JMMarquez (wait, sorry he didn't fight him yet all these years) ;);)

More bull**** from the Manny nut-lickers!

Relax guys we will find out how true this story is . . . coming from the mouth of Murad I truly doubt this. :rolleyes:

This LIAR MURAD might have some other motives . . . since Manny, Nazario and Roach echoed same sentiments of fighting MAB first and let JMM wait, Murad might want to pre-emtied this plan wanting the JMM fight to push through.

I don't know just my wild guess . . . I'm a fan of both Pac and MAB and I just don't believe MAB a true warrior that he is will say no to this very important fight. We will have to wait for other stories to come out for verification. But If indeed this is true, MAB is making a wrong decision. If he doesn't fight Pac again . . . he'll be living in the shadow of Pac forever. It's not Pac's loss it's his.

More bull**** from the Manny nut-lickers!


Hey what's your problem? This story didn't come from Manny nut-lickers . . . IS THAT ALL YOU CAN SAY? :eek:

Don't make it personal against Manny's fans. :D

Barrera Scared To Pacquiao

He pulled a Winky Wright move, get a big win after getting totally dominated by a guy and say he's "no longer interested"...To me it's all bull****, they just can't take suffering another loss after regaining a little bit of confidence..

pacquiao to my knowledge has two signed fights coming up, so i dont know why hed be calling out barrera right now, probably just reminding everyone that he whooped his ass to rain in on barreras parade. :confused: :cool:

wtf, i hope this is another false pretenses by Murrad . .

on the other hand this might be true since DLH knows the risk of figthing PAC and winning against MAB means the could be the end of MAB's colorfull career . . needless to say bad for DLH new company/promotions (****!). .

so for now . . it was like they were saying "fight larios instead while we have good reason to celebrate . . "

i hope the fight of these great warriors can push through . .

damn it!

I don't think MAB, himself, is refusing a rematch. He had never refused one! Morales, Jones... He's made of sterner stuff than what the report makes him out to be.

If any semblance of truth could be attached to the report, then, I'm going to look in the direction of:

1. The report that Murad said it, may be true but Murad is making the refusal bit up from whole cloth. It wont be his first time. Intention this time: He likes to get on MAB's case so MAB becomes so agitated, he can't wait to face Manny.

2. The handlers of MAB are the ones refusing a clash before Manny meets JMM. The statement reportedly coming from MAB's camp is that they are "not interested"; they didn't rule the possibility out completely. Their interest could easily perk up if they see something they like in the future. ;)

3. I'm looking at the line about Larios as an attempt at a put-down; though, I think, a clumsy one at best. If Manny and his crew, however, picks it, Golden Boy will be the winner: Larios is in their stable and a shot at Manny is a shot at Manny.Golden Boy will be promoting that so, it will get a bonus. So, while it is a clumsy put down, it still is loaded. ;) Cute... As for Murad, look for him to make extravagant statements in favor of Larios; he wants that fight too! He's looking to co-promote it with Golden Boy (I won't be surprised that there already exists tacit agreement in that direction between Murad and GB)! Murad couldn't give a hoot who Manny faces; he'll always get his share of the loot! He doesn't care what type of match-ups fans are begging for!

I remember that MAB-Morales III was held up so long that it appeared for a while that it would never happen, especially given that Erik was seeking to move up to Lightweight. But it did happen. The contracts and final other agreements were concurred to a mere 2 months or so prior to the staging of the fight. And even on fight night, there was a threat of it not going through at all (the issue of the gloves?)!

So, I'm not at all dispirited. I remain convinced that--at the farthest time-horizon, 1 year and a half-- MAB-Pac II will be made, granting that both stay "interesting" in the eyes of the public, i.e., they keep winning between now and then. :)

...with or without a Murad. :)