Jesus Chavez talks about Barrera, also info on Hamed

Underrated Chavez Has a Lot to Say about Barrera’s Historic Quest by Kevin Iole (Feb 8, 2006) Give us your feedback -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAS VEGAS — Naseem Hamed was largely a creation of the HBO marketing department and made millions as result. But the character that was Naz largely crumbled when Marco Antonio Barrera introduced him to the ol’ 1-2. When they met for supremacy at featherweight in 2001, Barrera already had a large reputation as one of the game’s finest brawlers. Every blow Hamed threw was designed to concuss and trading punches with him was like trying to beat Michael Jordan in a game of horse. Hamed was eminently beatable, however, but it took a boxing prodigy like Barrera to figure out how to do it. Barrera’s left hand was in Hamed’s face so often he looked like the guy drying the windshields at the local car wash. He followed the jab with a right hand and an occasional left hook and defused the time bomb and exposed Hamed as a limited, one-dimensional slugger. He was Dave Kingman in boxing gloves. Barrera has another challenge ahead of him where his boxing skills are going to be paramount. But Jesus Chavez is not a limited, one-dimensional slugger. And that’s big trouble for Barrera, who on March 25 at the MGM Grand will attempt to become the first boxer from Mexico to win world titles in four weight classes when he challenges Chavez for a lightweight title. Barrera’s ability to box saved him against Hamed and in his last two fights with Erik Morales. He’ll meet an entirely different foe when he faces Chavez, one who’s not going to wilt after taking a few lefts to the puss. “One of the things about me is that I am not only able to adjust, but I can adjust pretty quickly in the middle of the fight,” Chavez said. “I have a plan and I have some things I want to accomplish, but I’m also flexible. I know if I have to adjust, doing that pretty quickly is something I’m good at.” Chavez may be boxing’s most underappreciated star. He’s 43-3 with his only losses coming to Floyd Mayweather Jr., Morales and, of all people, Carlos Gerena. The loss to Gerena was a split decision in his fourth pro fight, one Chavez avenged — brutally —by stopping Gerena in a title eliminator on March 22, 2003. But if you throw out the Gerena loss as poor judging or an ill-prepared young fighter or just one of those things, you have a guy who has won 43 of his other 45 fights with the only losses coming to two of the greatest fighters of his time. And, as he is quick to point out, he fought Morales with one arm and needed surgery on his shoulder and knee after that fight. “I think I’ve proven what I can do,” said Chavez, who list of quality wins includes Gerena, Leavander Johnson, Carlos Hernandez, Javier Jauregui, Luisito Espinoza, John Brown, Sirimongkol Singwangcha and Tom Johnson. Some people, though, are difficult to convince and they seem to remember the loss to Mayweather more than the other fights combined. Chavez, though, is hardly bothered. He has the chance of a lifetime ahead of him and has no plans to blow it. “I’m at a level and at a point in my career where this is going to be a fun fight for me,” Chavez said. “Knowing that this is going to go down in history and be regarded in Mexican boxing as one of the greatest fights; that has me really motivated. I’ll be the one who either gave Marco Antonio Barrera the dream of making it as a four-time champion of the world or the guy who said, ‘Not on my watch.’ And I like ‘Not on my watch,’ a lot better, believe me.”