By Rick Reeno
BoxingScene.com was advised by a source close to the promotion of the upcoming Latin Fury 15 pay-per-view, that former three-division champion Marco Antonio Barrera (68-7, 43 KOs) will indeed see action on the undercard. Barrera is scheduled to take part in a ten round lightweight bout. The opponent has not been confirmed.
I was told Barrera's promotional agreement was not directly made with Top Rank. He signed a deal with Fernando Beltran, president of Zanfer Promotions. Zanfer is Top Rank's partner in Mexico and the two companies co-promote several fighters.
Latin Fury 15 is scheduled to take place on June 26 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. On paper, this is the biggest Latin Fury pay-per-view in the history of the series. The main event features a middleweight contest between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and John Duddy. In the co-feature, WBO super flyweight champion Jorge Arce will move up to bantamweight to challenge interim-WBO champion Eric Morel.
Barrera, 36, is looking to rebound from the technical decision loss to Amir Khan from last March. During that fight, a clash of heads opened up a huge cut on Barrera. The ringside doctor stopped the fight in the fifth round, but he could have stopped it much sooner. Under the governing rules, and because four rounds of action were in the books, Khan-Barrera was sent to the scorecards. The cut took several months to heal.
Top Rank is holding two press conferences next week to officially announce the Latin Fury 15 pay-per-view. The first takes place next Monday in San Antonio, and second will be held next Tuesday in California. Barrera will appear at both pressers.
