REMINDER; Be Here Saturday, November 27, 2004 as BoxingScene presents live round by round coverage of Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Erik Morales 3. Coverage starting at 9pm Eastern Standard Time.

By Rick Reeno

It could end up being the fight of the year as Saturday night, November 27, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera clash for the third time in their respected careers. The men met for the first time in 2000 and staged one of the greatest Mexican wars of all-time. From the opening bell, both men went toe to toe and produced a fight with non-stop action to the very end. The bout was easily voted the Fight of the Year by Ring Magazine. Most observers felt Barrera won, but it was Morales who got the nod from the judges by way of a razor-thin split decision. The fight brought back Marco Antonio Barrera's career from the gutter and earned him a huge payday against Prince Naseem Hamed.

The second battle between the two Mexican warriors happened almost two years later on June 22, 2002. Unlike the first bout, it started off with both men Boxing. Barrera sensing that Morales was leading on the official scorecards, decided it was time to go to war and the two men resumed battle for the second half of the fight. This time around, most observers saw Morales as winning the fight and once again, the other fighter was awarded the decision victory. Barrera gained a very close unanimous decision over Morales.

The stage is set for the final battle between these two future hall of fame fighters. The staff of BoxingScene drops their picks for this epic third battle.

Christopher P. Cook
I have to take Morales via UD.  I had Morales winning both of the prior matches and cannot see this one any different.  I give Barrera credit for coming back like he did since his bout with Manny “The Destroyer,” however, Morales – in my opinion – is a top two pound-for-pound boxer and the best boxer under 160 pounds.  Only thing I have in question with this bout is scoring of it, seems no one can trust judges these days.  They both are some of the greatest talents to come out of Mexico, but Morales will best him again.

Ronnie Nathanielsz
I pick Morales to win because the bashing at the hands of Manny Pacquiao took so much out of Barrera. Besides, I was not too impressed with his showing against Paulie Ayala even though he won fairly easily. Ayala caught him with a couple of good combinations highlighting Barrera's weakness against a southpaw. Pacquiao who watched that fight with me said "If I hit Barrera like Ayala did, he would have been out."
 
I believe Morales is too quick and fires great combinations and can vary his punches.
 
I'd love to see a Pacquiao-Barrera rematch but I don't think that will happen because Morales will win. Either way, the fight between Pacquiao and the winner should be a dandy...that's if Pacquiao gets serious about his training for the Marquez fight.

Dave Wilcox
This one should be a brutal affair. I think Barrera's best days are behind him and he doesn't fight at the level he once did. This will be a slugfest with both guys taking their share of leather. In the end Morales will outlast MAB and put an end to this trilogy with a late round stoppage. I'll say Morales by TKO by round 11.
 
Someone could get hurt bad in this one. I hope there is a competent ref in there, because in this rivalry, both guys will fight to the death. No quit in either one of these warriors. This bout has "Thrilla in Manilla" written all over it!

Robert Padilla
Morales has been in a mad mode for his training for the fight with Barrera. Showing too much anger with Barrera and really no respect. In the other hand Barrera is concentrating on technique and positive training.

Which one is more tense and is adding unneeded pressure to themselves? Morales.

Who is going to affect their fight with more tension? Morales.

Barrera is taking this as a fight to become the best in the World, not just to beat Morales. This fight won't be any different from their past battles but Barrera is more in control of his emotions and the pressure is on the other man this time. Barrera by close decision with Morales possibly making a fool of himself by maybe having a point taken away during this battle.

Rusty Rubin
The pick is relatively easy, mainly because Morales is naturally heavier and a bigger puncher. This is his third fight with Barrera, and I was wrong on the outcome of the first two, although both could have gone either way.....I thought Barrera won the first, but lost a close decision. I thought Morales won the second but lost a close decision...Although Marco has a chin of granite, I don't think Erik will let this one go to the judges. Morales by late TKO.

Dave Selwyn
This should be a close fight. I have to go with the slightly younger and bigger fighter. My prediction is that Morales should win in a close decision.

Tom Donelson
This is a pick em fight that could go either way and most likely go the distance.  Barrera advantage is that he can box and move if need be whereas Morales wants to come forward and pressure his opponent.  Barrera can go from plan A to plan B but on the other hand, Morales advantage is that he has fought at 130 pounds now for three fights and has done better in his last few fights compared to Barrera.

When Barrera lost to Pacquiao, it was said that Barrera was old and over the head. When Barrera beat up on Paulie Ayala, he was back.   So what does Barrera have left? For this fight, both fighters will be at their best for this is more than just a championship fight, this is for the championship of each other and Mexico. 

My gut instinct is that Barrera will try use his mobility in the beginning just as he did in their second fight but in the end, it will come down to a brawl just like their first fight.  I like Morales in a close exciting contest.  Morales may be stronger at 130 and that will prove the difference in this match.  Morales by decision.

Frank Lotierzo
I thought Morales won the first fight and Barrera won the rematch. If you look at them physically, Morales has all the advantages, (height & reach and punch). Those advantages should be the difference if he fights smart, but he loves to fight and go to war. Barrera is one of the few pressure fighters that I have seen recently who can be effective moving back. Since both fighters are versatile and can win many different ways, it's a tough fight to handicap. That being said, I think the Pac-man fight had to take something out of Barrera. It's a close call and they bring the best out of each other. Because of his size and believing that there is a good chance Barrera has probably eroded more than Morales, I'll go with Morales by decision.

David Sauvage
Barrera has more to prove; Morales has more in the tank. It's one of those rare fights that, if they fought it a hundred times, each of them would probably win it fifty. It could come down to a moment, a flick,
an incompetent judge.

That said, I wasn't so impressed by Barrera's win over Ayala. Ayala looked to be fighting the last fight of his career; he was nowhere near as sharp as when Morales ran him over for a unanimous decision in 2002.
With the loss to Pacquiao, it stands to reason that Barrera has finally, after nearly sixty fights, crested -- while Morales could not have looked better in his last against an unstoppable Carlos Hernandez.

So at the end of the day, I'll side tentatively with the bookies, and I'll take Morales to win a tight decision. But I'd rather see Barrera prove he's immortal.

Jose Villagas
Morales UD- I think how this fight goes will depend on what Morales shows up. If Morales stays focused and sticks to his game plan he can outbox Barrera, but if he lets his pride get in the way and gets drawn into a slugfest he will lose. I don't think Barrera is shot like some people say he is I think he just got caught off guard by the speed of Pacquiao and I fully expect him to come out guns blazing in this fight. I'm going with Morales to keep a level head and outbox Barrera, but no outcome in this fight would really surprise me that's why this fight is so great.

Jim Amato
I feel this will be Barrera's swan song. One final payday he richly deserves. He has been a great champion, a possible future Hall Of Famer. His win over Hamed may have sealed his HOF status. The beating he took from Pac Man took the air out of Barrera's balloon. Sure he looked great beating the smaller Paulie Ayala but Morales is a different animal. Morales has the momentum. I'll say Morales by a tenth round stoppage. Then I want to see Morales-vs-Pac Man. That could be very interesting. A possible Fight Of The Year candidate.

Steve Cummings
This time around, at this weight, it should be a different fight than the first two. Physically, I think Morales is right where he wants to be. At this stage of Barrera's career, given the shellacking he suffered at the hands of Pacquaio, and the fact that Marco's an "old" 30, the 130-lb weight class isn't where he needs to be for this showdown with his arch rival Morales

Mike Indri
Very tough, difficult fight for both these great warriors.  I wonder how much the beating Barrera suffered at the hands of Manny Pacquio will play affect in this war.  I just think that Morrales has a bit more fight than Barrera left in him and see Morrales winning by either a unanimous decision or late round stoppage.

Damien Picariello
I'm going to go with Morales here, possibly by stoppage.  Although the weight question has been beaten to death, I really do think that 130 favors Morales and his bigger one-shot power.  I also think that Barrera has aged as a fighter much more than Morales has.  Although Morales is no spring chicken himself, I think he can still pull out a fast-paced fight whereas Barrera can't.  Both fighters, at least in my view, are past their primes.  However, Morales still has a few big fights in him.  Not so, I think, for Marco Barrera. 
Morales TKO 11

James Blears
Marco is not predicting a KO win, but he’s visibly confident he’ll be able to pull of a hard fought points win against Erik and take any opportunity to go one better, along the way. This self belief is driving him to great things in training at Big Bear high on the roof of California, and Marco’s self belief is a very potent weapon.

The more weighty factual arguments come down on Erik’s side, but Marco who’s more extrovert and demonstrative appears to want it and need it more badly.

Rick Reeno
Barrera cannot get beat in this fight, this is a do or die battle for him. Morales can easily come back from a defeat. I'm not sure that Barrera can position himself in another big fight where the money is satisfactory if he loses for the second time in three fights. The only way Barrera can lose and still come back strong is if he gets screwed out of a decision or loses in very close fashion. If Morales schools him or wins by a wide margin, it will be devastating to Barrera's career. If Morales knocks him out, Barrera will be looking right in the face of retirement.

I've been right on the money with the result of the first two fights, even though most, including myself, felt the wrong man won each fight. I'm going for the underdog in this fight, my gut is telling me that Marco is going to step up and win a close decision.