Why do critics say Barrera was past his prime for the Pacquaio fight in 2003?

[Ghazan]

critics of Pacquaio dont give him credit for beating the Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera...they say Barrera was past his prime when he lost to Manny..

1.Barrera was on an 8 fight winning run...he was the #2 p4p..and had won his last fight with a brutal TKO win.

2.Barrera was the universal featherweight champion..he hadnt lost in 3 years...and had beaten Hamed,Morales and Ayala.

3.critics say Barrera had surgery before the Pacquiao fight in which the Docs put a metal plate in his skull...yeah the surgery took place in 1999..four years before the pacquiao fight

so i hope you guys can agree that Barrera was in great condition before the fight and the 'past his prime' excuses are plain BS

what do you think?

[Gatling]

They felt he was over the hill and war torn. Even in the pre fight they were talking retirement.

It's a huge win for Pac. His best, IMO

[Jack Napier]

who said that?
it's the one Pac win even the idiot Floydfags don't dare bitch about
can't recall hearing anyone diss that fight
just the usual "Barrera is Mexican, just a come forward brawler" crap
no way to knock that fight, Barrera was having his best career run

[Khalid X]

That's a talking point that creating 5-6 years after they fought.

He had just beaten Morales, Hamed, Tapia, Kelley and Enrique Sanchez. Barrera's run = one of the greatest, leading up the the Pacquiao fight.

Even after the loss, he still beat Morales and Paulie Ayala....two of the best fighters in that division.

Hell 4 years afterwards (the Pacquiao fight) I felt Barrera lost a close, and highly competitive fight against one the best SFW in the world (JMM).

The only reason I think they say this is that they somehow confuse the first fight with the second fight. I can see folks claiming Barrera was faded when they fought in 2008.

[Outwest Exp 355]

A good win for Manny. Barera wasnt in his prime but was still a top fighter. He did battle Morales twice, went to war with Mckinney (first HBO boxing after dark fight), and had some other tough fights. But he still had plenty left in the tank. So I give him credit for the first fight. The second fight was a money grab plain and simple.

[Exciterx30]

I remember watching this fight live on HBO and I remember, clearly, that Barrera was the favorite since Pacquiao was supposed to be this raw, super bantamweight whose claim to fame was upsetting Ledwaba a couple of years before. If critics said that Barrera was past it, that was after the fight because hindsight is always 20/20.

True, this was not the same Barrera of two and a half years before, the one who beat Hamed, but this was a world class fighter and still the top guy at 126 at the moment, along with Erik Morales. It is a Top 5, maybe Top 3 win for Pacquiao in terms of the actual accomplishment and # 1 in terms of making Pacquiao a breakthrough star in the sport.

[Big_L]

there were some things that came up. we found out he had a metal plate in his head and fires in California messed up his training camp. he was certainly not past his prime though. he was the heavy favorite. probably pacquiao's greatest win.

[microMXL]

no issues with this victory

[hectari]

critics of Pacquaio dont give him credit for beating the Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera...they say Barrera was past his prime when he lost to Manny..

1.Barrera was on an 8 fight winning run...he was the #2 p4p..and had won his last fight with a brutal TKO win.

2.Barrera was the universal featherweight champion..he hadnt lost in 3 years...and had beaten Hamed,Morales and Ayala.

3.critics say Barrera had surgery before the Pacquiao fight in which the Docs put a metal plate in his skull...yeah the surgery took place in 1999..four years before the pacquiao fight

so i hope you guys can agree that Barrera was in great condition before the fight and the 'past his prime' excuses are plain BS

what do you think?

He was far from washed up. They were thinking the fire in big bear distracted him and the news released by his former manager that he had a metal plate in his head would distract Barrera, but Barrera was the huge betting favorite in that fight.

Barrera had an awesome comeback after Pacman demolished him, he returned against Paulie Ayala and was the first to stop him. Beat Morales, knocked Mzonke Fana out in 2 rounds, beat Robbie Peden, and Rocky Juarez twice, although the first was controversial.

[Bravado]

Why? Simply because its easier to negate someone as being talented and having a great fighter under their belt than it is to give him props