By Thomas Gerbasi
Nearly 21 years ago, a teenager named Marco Antonio Barrera stepped through the ropes for the first time as a professional with a simple philosophy, one that had nothing to do with his middle class upbringing, the looks that earned him the nickname “The Baby Faced Assassin”, or his dreams of one day becoming a lawyer.
That would all get left at the steps leading into the ring in Mexico City, and as he told me in 2005, what happened in combat was akin to entering a different world, one where you might not be recognizable to those who knew you in your civilian life. You were now something different, more primal, and it had everything to do with the color of your passport.
“A Mexican believes that once you sign that contract, you go into that ring and leave it all there – all your anger, your pride, everything,” said Barrera. “And whether you win or lose, you can never come back and say that I should have done this, or I should have done that.”
All guts, all glory, no regrets, no what ifs or could have beens. The 15 year old Barrera won his first pro fight that night on November 22, 1989, stopping David Felix in two rounds. And while Felix would go on to become the answer to a trivia question, the topic of the question, Barrera, went on to greatness.
The facts are there – 65 wins in 73 fights with 43 knockouts, world titles in three weight classes, a classic trilogy with Erik Morales, and bouts against the best of this era, including Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez, Prince Naseem Hamed, Paulie Ayala, Johnny Tapia, Kevin Kelley, Junior Jones, and Kennedy McKinney.
And at 36, he is still here.
That shouldn’t be a surprise. After all, this is boxing, and boxers never leave until forcibly shown the door by younger, faster, stronger opponents. To Barrera’s credit, the only one who has given him that one-sided type of retirement party was pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao, who did it twice, in 2003 and 2007. As for his only other two losses since June of 2000, a 2007 decision defeat against Juan Manuel Marquez was competitive, and deemed controversial in some quarters, and his last bout, a fifth round technical decision loss against young gun Amir Khan, ended prematurely due to a cut. Would he have beaten Khan that night in March of 2009? Probably not, but there is enough of a question mark due to the cut, as well as the possibility of late fight heroics from Barrera.
So predictably, Barrera dusted himself off – and not for the first time, as he has threatened retirement in the past – got back in the gym, and he will return to action Saturday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, to take on Adailton De Jesus of Brazil.
“I never really left,” said Barrera. “I have always been there and was just taking a rest. Now I am here for maybe two, three or four fights. In México City the TV is open and all the people will get to see me fight. I want to show all of México how I can still fight.”
And even though De Jesus is no top contender, he packs enough pop to test Barrera’s chin and his willingness to dig deep for a victory should the fight go longer than seven rounds or so. In other words, he’s the perfect truth machine for a 36-year old fighter looking for one more run at making history.
“The idea is to fight for a world title in a short time,” said Barrera, who is looking to win a world title in a fourth weight class. “I know that I can and my body is good. I have experience and I don’t know the name of a champion that I will fight but I know that I am ready and will prove it in this fight. After that I will fight any champion. It doesn’t matter.”
Barrera has certainly hitched onto the promotional vehicle that can get him there sooner rather than later in Top Rank. Not only do they work with WBC champ Humberto Soto and WBA titlist Miguel Acosta, but they will also move Barrera in a way where he will see where he’s at physically before jumping into the fire. It’s a great pairing, but also an odd one, considering that Barrera used to be the one on the other side of the ring punching Top Rank fighters.
“He is a great fighter but I have to say, as Marco will tell you, he was always in the opposite corner,” said Top Rank boss Bob Arum. “He gave fighters that I was promoting fits. Now I am happy that we are in the same corner and I hope to have him, very shortly, fighting for a lightweight championship, maybe against Soto or maybe against Acosta – both fighters are under contract with Top Rank and so he’ll have that opportunity to fight for a fourth world title and become the first Mexican to win world titles in four weight divisions. So I look forward to being in his corner when that happens.”
Barrera is all in, so is Arum, but will the fans be? You know the answer to that, just like you know that if Mike Tyson returned tomorrow, you would have your cable remote in hand to order the fight. There are certain names in the sport that have earned consumer loyalty, and Barrera is certainly one of them; and not for any bizarre, train wreck reasons – but because of his track record for putting on memorable scraps.
“Boxing is entertainment,” said Arum. “It is entertainment provided by well-conditioned athletes. Some of these athletes in boxing do not entertain, but Marco Antonio Barrera has always entertained. He always comes to fight, whether he is a young guy fighting in the Los Angeles Forum or later on with classic fights against Erik Morales, he always entertained the fans. Fans don’t forget that. They want to be entertained.”
So just like Barrera isn’t about to let go of his dream of a fourth divisional title, we’re not ready to let him go either. But if Adailton De Jesus beats him, we must say goodbye.
