By Mark Vester

Marco Antonio Barrera has advised his former rival Manny Pacquiao to skip his slated November 15 bout with Humberto Soto, forget about Edwin Valero - and stay on track to a showdown with Ricky Hatton in 2009. Pacquiao holds two dominating wins over Barerra.

“If I’m on Manny’s side, I’ll tell him to wait until next year for Hatton,” said Barrera to Joaquin Henson of The Phil Star. “The fans want to see Manny in a competitive fight, not a mismatch. Valero is not good for a tune-up because he is a dangerous and hungry opponent. I think Manny will beat Valero because of his experience. Manny is too smart for Valero and is in his prime. Valero isn’t ready for Manny. But Valero has nothing to lose and will give it everything he’s got.”

Barrera told the paper that Pacquiao gains nothing from fighting Soto, who lost a decision to Joan Guzman and has controversy all over his last bout with Francisco Lorenzo, which ended with a disqualification loss.

“It’s unfair for other fighters if Manny fights Soto next,” said Barrera. “Soto couldn’t even beat Guzman and is coming off a controversial fight. Now, the WBC is thinking of naming him the interim superfeatherweight champion. If Soto fights Manny, the result will be the same as Diaz, maybe worse. Manny doesn’t need Soto. Who is Soto? He should fall in line like the others and beat big-name fighters before earning the right to challenge Manny. Soto is lucky he’s with Top Rank. If not, nobody would even know he exists. I think Manny should fight Hatton then retire as a legend.”

Barrera recently split with Golden Boy Promotions to pursue his own ventures as a free agent. He revealed to Henson that he recently spoke with Pacquiao about doing a joint show featuring Barrera's stable of Mexican fighters and Pacquiao's stable of Filipino fighters.

“I spoke with Manny on the phone and asked if we could discuss business when he comes to Las Vegas for the Cotto-Margarito fight on July 26,” said Barrera. “I have about 20 fighters in my stable, from flyweights to superfeatherweights. I’m planning to co-promote with Manny a big card featuring my Mexican fighters against Manny’s Filipino fighters. We could do it in the Philippines or Mexico. Manny agreed we would sit down and talk about it.”

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