Barrera of Mexico dull, needs Pinoy heart

BARE EYE Barrera of Mexico dull, needs Pinoy heart By Recah Trinidad Inquirer Last updated 00:58am (Mla time) 09/20/2006 Published on Page A26 of the September 20, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer HE WAS, ONCE AGAIN, quick with his left shots but Marco Antonio Barrera was much quicker with his tongue. He called out the name of RP boxing god Manny Pacquiao, with whom the Mexican WBC super featherweight champion had a score to settle, the moment Barrera was declared winner by decision over Rocky Juarez on Sunday. “For me it’s the best fight again with Manny Pacquiao, he’s the best... I’m typically Mexican. I don’t need the defeat in the first fight, I need the second,” Barrera told Larry Merchant in halting English on top of the ring in Las Vegas. Barrera couldn’t be blamed. He must’ve felt extra super after out-pointing Juarez, who the promoter and the judges had to cheat last May in his first fight with Barrera. But, hey, Barrera must also be told he had sent not a few television spectators, including this reporter, slip to sleep with his lullaby display of superior skills. * * * While the fight was rated -- except by two judges -- a mismatch, it was generally labeled a first-class bore. And, mind you, it was Barrera’s fault that another main offering by his big boss, Oscar de la Hoya, proved a big flop with the big, classy Vegas crowd. OK, Barrera bared everything in the arsenal of a first-class boxer. But one thing was sorely absent -- a champion’s heart! Noted the New York Times: “Barrera fought exactly where he wanted the fight to be contested. When he wanted to be in the center of the ring, they were there. When he wanted to rest on the ropes, over they went.” Juarez, the sharp ringside account added, followed Barrera around the ring as if he was attached to him by a tether. * * * Barrera, professorial but less than truly professional, gave a neat boxing lesson. He was overcautious and clinical. Of course, there’s no reason to suspect he was afraid of his opponent. But after the shorter Juarez, with limited artillery and inferior skills, failed to turn the bout into a fast-breaking match, Barrera retired to his comfortable half-court style of play. When Barrera could have pushed the contest to a gladiatorial level, he opted to do the fighting inside the dull confines of a classroom. Barrera was a lazy teacher reading out old notes, going through the motion, while the whole class -- the boxing world -- headed toward dreamland. Said international boxing judge Salven Lagumbay, Inquirer boxing correspondent: “Barrera can always box and win -- and get booed. Maybe he’ll do that to Manny just to get a win.” * * * You know what? Out there at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, spectators were already hooting and jeering starting the fifth round. They did not like what they were witnessing. They were trying to avoid the specter of another prizefight hoax. It was like this. Juarez managed to loom like a tough and classy warrior, worthy of a crown, after Barrrera checked in soft and unprepared for their first fight last May. Now, after the real Barrera showed up for the title fight on Sunday, he proved too good and sharp for Juarez. Barrera, as the old ring saying goes, put the overrated Juarez in his proper place. Problem: despite his overall superiority, Barrera, in charge, sent the full-house crowd wincing in despair. Barrera definitely did not have the appetite to slug it out and go for a kill. Who knows? When the irritated fans started booing the dull fight, they could also be calling out the name of Manny Pacquiao. Yes, Pacquiao was originally scheduled to be at ringside for the Barrera-Juarez title fight. When the fans started to cry out for fire and drama, not a few in the stands must have had Pacquiao in mind. They all knew the Pacman motto that says: The only true fight is the fight with a heart. Make that read Pinoy heart.