Barrera: "Morales will dominate Pacquiao"

Barrera: "Morales will dominate Pacquiao" By Ant Evans: One of the super fights already inked for 2006 is the January 21 rematch between Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao, which will emanate from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Their 12 rounder in March 2005 was an early contender for Fight of the Year (and will certainly be on the ballot for SecondsOut's Annual Reader Awards next week) with Morales hanging on to take a close but deserved points decision. But Pacquiao engendered much sympathy in defeat.. The Pac-Man fought under less than optimum conditions, what with him in the middle of an ugly divorce from Murad Muhammad, the promoter who not only signed away Pacquiao's right to wear his favoured Reyes gloves but also took the luxury suite his hosts at the MGM Grand had provided for the fighter. Plus, as he and trainer Freddie Roach repeatedly pointed out in the nine months since, Pacquiao rocked Morales to his boots in the championship rounds and when you throw all of that together with Morales's listless 12 round lost to unheralded Zahir Raheem in September, it is easy to understand why some bookmakers strongly favour Pacquiao to avenge the defeat next month. However common opponent Marco Antonio Barrera, who is almost certain to fight the winner in the second half of the New Year, believes 'El Terrible' will improve on his March performance and hammer 'the Pac-Man' second time around. "Morales will dominate in an easy fight," Barrera told SecondsOut. "I want to fight the winner of (next month's fight) and I think that will be Erik Morales. Morales is not shot, forget about his last (performance), he was not motivated, did not train hard and was fighting too heavy (weighing in as a lightweight)." That prediction shouldn't take long-time fans by surprise. Pride often massages fighters predictions in that they will select an opponent they defeated over a fighter they lost to. That way they can say 'See? I told you my loss to that guy was a fluke because a guy I beat, beat him'. But, whatever, fans will welcome the news that Barrera v Morales IV is indeed on the cards for the New Year. The three-division unified world champion continued: "Actually, Golden Boy offered Morales the chance to fight me in September but he declined the fight." Barrera believes he has underlined that he is the best Mexican fighter of his generation already, and said he will fight Morales for a fourth time because of the fans. "Morales has said 2006 is the year of his revenge but how can he seek revenge when the best he can do is (draw level) at 2-2?," Barrera smiled. "My victory (to go 2-1) was one of the most important in my career because I won the trilogy. Boxing history is filled with trilogies and I won mine with Morales. Revenge is not something Morales will get so easily but a fourth fight is something all the fans want to see. "It is a sportsmanlike rivalry," Barrera smiled. "Oscar is promoting fighters differently, he is doing it differently and he has a style of promoting that is new and exciting. Whenever Golden Boy fights a Top Rank fighter we win so we don't take the rivalry that seriously. Golden Boy will come out on top on Top Rank again in 2006 when I go 3-1 against Morales." Source: http://www.secondsout.com/USA/news.cfm?ccs=229&cs=18120

Comments (20)

as a pacfan, i am starting to realize that we do not need a rematch with MAB to secure a good name for him... he beat the hell out of marco and that's history... sweet history... now all i want is for him to beat erik... erik beat him so i would like him to drop erik... :D fan's like this make me want to see pacman get ktfo so biased and retarded gl to pacman saturday. :boxing:

20y ago

moy22487

it does they like to hate you know your hating on MAB right? i like pacman he is great. but i like MAB more. you just hating streight out. keep it up

20y ago

moy22487

he's just ahtin dude, he knows MAB aint stepped up to the plate and challenge pac in any way, i though he was an assasin but he just hidin right now, no one wants to fight him, MAb's ppv dont earn money, on the other hand, everytime it's pac's fight its a hit, its a hit because of the people who he fights. if he didnt fight morales or jmm or barrera you think he would be selling out ppv that easy?

20y ago

grayfist

After the Pac meeting, Barrera made significant changes in his crew, including his promoter--went from Arum to Oscar, who quickly set him up for three easy fights and one big one, Morales. Other than the Morales date, Barrera has shown that he cannot draw decent PPV crowds on his own. Golden Boy promo, which is spewing everything recently read on print on behalf of MAB and fearful that their ward is being left out, has to make noise if only to remind people that there's a MAB that is part of that holy trinity. It's Golden Boy promotions' job to keep Barrera in the mix. Not to do so would consign Barrera to the stature of also-runs, whose list is currently headed by JMM. What the spinmeisters of Golden Boy conveniently omitted in their prediction that they have put into MAB's mouth is that while Barrera won twice over Morales, he never managed to dominate in any of their three encounters. On the other hand, while Pacquiao clearly lost to Morales, there was no dominance-- both the judges score and the widely held view that it was a contender for Fight of the Year (and had Castillo and Corrales stayed home, it would have been), are raised in support of the opinion. A one- sided fight cannot be on the short list for Fight of the Year. The Pac- Barrera meeting however was a mauling. Though a bit mitigated by the ref's missed calls, all of which favored MAB, it was nonetheless a mauling that had to end before the scheduled distance. MAB's corner shares the view that it was truly that: one of them (the brother?) clambered up the ring to protect MAB from anymore of the same. So, MAB was ill-prepared for that fight, it is often claimed. Well, the rematch option was there for him to pick up for two years (late '03- late '05). Instead, he took on Fahna, a faded Ayala and a sparmate, Peden. Of course, Morales too. In the meantime, what did Pac do? He met Morales and after losing, he immediately craved and got a rematch, stopping by only to dispose of Velasquez in a tune-up. Pac didn't take his sweet time. Pac, Shaw and company could have pointed in the direction of Raheem and played it cute, saying, "Take care of your unfinished business with him first. Then, we talk." Instead, just minutes after Morales lost to Raheem, Shaw confirmed to the Morales camp that the rematch was what Manny wanted. Thus, we have the 21st coming up. If, and this is a big IF, Pac gets mauled by Erik, it cannot be said that he never worked his a___ to try Erik again. The quest may, then, be called foolish, but never cowardly. Golden Boy Promotions web-spinners take note: that cannot be said of MAB with regard Pacquiao.

20y ago

flipside

Ya I know, but sometimes it becomes too annoying. it does they like to hate

20y ago

Cangipos

20y ago

flipside

This is a no brainer. Yes, PAC lost that fight but you have to consider what kind of situation he went through at that time. Rematch with Singsurat? Manny has a big problem making the weight and it would be stupid for him to fight again in that division. But if a rematch is to be made irregardless of their weight, I'm sure PAC would be very much willing even with their bare hands. I bet you only know that PAC lost that bout by TKO and nothing more or you're just trying to justify the actions and non-actions of MAB after he was mutililated by Manny. he's just ahtin dude, he knows MAB aint stepped up to the plate and challenge pac in any way, i though he was an assasin but he just hidin right now, no one wants to fight him, MAb's ppv dont earn money, on the other hand, everytime it's pac's fight its a hit,

20y ago

Cangipos

MAB ran well why didnt pacman rematch Medgoen Singsurat when he got koed in the 3rd couse he was scared?? This is a no brainer. Yes, PAC lost that fight but you have to consider what kind of situation he went through at that time. Rematch with Singsurat? Manny has a big problem making the weight and it would be stupid for him to fight again in that division. But if a rematch is to be made irregardless of their weight, I'm sure PAC would be very much willing even with their bare hands. I bet you only know that PAC lost that bout by TKO and nothing more or you're just trying to justify the actions and non-actions of MAB after he was mutililated by Manny.

20y ago

flipside

you do know that the fighters MAB faught were mandatorys right?or do you just follow pacman and not keep up with other things in boxing. yea mab got beat by pacman and pacman got his ass beat by morrales right now 3 of them are equals untill the winner of morrales vs pacman fight barrera then the winner will be a true champ. MAB ran and JMM over priced himself? maybe pacman is scared of what can happen to him if barrera comes in focuse and fully trained. funny the rematch with morrales was signed right away. MAB ran well why didnt pacman rematch Medgoen Singsurat when he got koed in the 3rd couse he was scared?? he lost to the thai because he was overweight and didnt eat noting for a couple days to make weight pac aiont scared, JMM overpriced himself, MAB never challenged he just made excuses, off night crap, if it was an offnight why didnt he run after him? MAb lost right so he should be wnating a rematch and those mandatories are chumps

20y ago

moy22487

MAB has earned nothing kid. f anything he earned the nickname Pussy of Hoya. PAC fought a noob not because he wanted to but because of neccessity kid. If anything, he has proven himself as the most fearless fighter ever to grace that division. He took the 3 Mexicans without hesitation, the fight with the noobs was a necessity. The first one happened because pussy Marquez overpriced himself. The second was just a tune-up fight for Morales. PAC already gave Pussy MAB several challenges in the past and when he hears those challenges, he goes running to Hoya's skirt. you do know that the fighters MAB faught were mandatorys right?or do you just follow pacman and not keep up with other things in boxing. yea mab got beat by pacman and pacman got his ass beat by morrales right now 3 of them are equals untill the winner of morrales vs pacman fight barrera then the winner will be a true champ. MAB ran and JMM over priced himself? maybe pacman is scared of what can happen to him if barrera comes in focuse and fully trained. funny the rematch with morrales was signed right away. MAB ran well why didnt pacman rematch Medgoen Singsurat when he got koed in the 3rd couse he was scared??

20y ago

kg21mvp

barrera knows whats hes talking about :D man, barrera dcxdont know what hes talking about cause he aint got money right know because nobody wants to fight him coz aint no money in it.. hes just sour graping of the fact that pacman and morales are facing each other the 2nd time and he doesn't have a fight coming up...although he has a title but nobody is watching his fights aint nobody here that!

20y ago

DiegoFuego

Why does Barrera always say Morales will beat Pacquiao up? Wishful thinking maybe? Maybe Barrera knows he can win against Morales if he breaks his nose early like last time, but he knows he could never beat Pacquiao.

20y ago

morancito

coz right now MAb is boring aint worth shit LO!!! If he "ain't worth shit", then PacMan most important victory becomes irrelevant. You know, cuz he fought someone who isn't worth shit. And it's incredible how Pacfans can give MAB shit because he fought a "nobody" in Peden, yet forget that PacMan has also had his share of nobodies, like the last one. Peden at least was considered a contender by most experts. Being the best of the trio, MAB has earned the right of fighting the winner of Morales/Pacman II. So consider the Jan. 21 bout an eliminator to fight the true super feather champ. That's all it is.

20y ago

morancito

And finally, MAB's just "self-proclaimed" that he is one of the best Mexican fighters of this generation. Um, self-proclaimed? Everyone who knows a little bit of boxing knows that Barrera is one of the best, if not THE best Mexican boxer since JCC. That is not self-proclaimed, it is acclaimed.

20y ago

EasyE

pac made no excuses after the fight, yet the article continues to make excuses for him that annoys the shit out of me

20y ago

flipside

barera mad at pac coz he got beaten by a movie star, which pac is

20y ago

flipside

i wish morales would get over the suckerpunch tha that barerra gave him before the first fight and just accept barerra's respect. MAB has offered to apologize but erik refused. im pretty sure that MAB just wants the mexican fighter to win. he wants revenge for MAB's KO loss to manny and he wants erik to deliver it. barera wants erik to avenge his loss to pac? he a big man he can do that himself except if he knows inside that he cant beat manny

20y ago

TheEvilSaint

20y ago

flipside

Welcome back Manny_P.If Barrera aint afraid of PAC, the fight should have been done years ago. Now that Barrera is a not selling his PPV and he's quickly being edged in the spotlight between 2 fearless fighters Morales and PAC, he thinks he can still grab some candy. Too bad for him. hes still banned dude

20y ago

The_Wire

Why isnt Barrera chasing pac more than he is? He's praying Erik beats Pac cos then the interest in MAB vs Pac dwindles a bit more.

20y ago