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Over three years and counting. The amount of time that has passed since Marco Antonio Barrera was unexpectedly dominated by Manny Pacquiao on route to being knocked out in eleven rounds.
Barrera was on the receiving end of a beating bad enough to make most writers call for an immediate retirement. They said he turned old overnight. No longer was he thought of as the once great warrior that beat such fighters as Naseem Hamed, Erik Morales and Johnny Tapia.
After the loss to Pacquiao, it appeared as if Barrera was going to call it a career. His pos-fight interview seemed to indicate that he was unsure if he was going to continue to fight. To the surprise of many, he did continue to fight and reclaimed his spot among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.
It wasn't as easy as it sounds.
He came back against Paulie Ayala, stopping him for the first time in his career within ten rounds. An impressive return, but the boxing public was still not fully convinced that Barrera was back in full swing. Ayala was a good fighter, nobody can dispute that fact. But, he was also on the downside of his career and had very little punching power.
Barrera sensed that he would need to do something big in order to prove to the public that he was actually still the same fighter. No better way to make a statement than signing a contract for a trilogy bout with Mexican rival Erik Morales.
At the time, Morales was at the very least considered the third best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. Morales moved up to the super featherweight division and was coming off spectacular performances over Jesus Chavez and Carlos Hernandez, picking up two super featherweight titles in the process. [details]
Barrera was on the receiving end of a beating bad enough to make most writers call for an immediate retirement. They said he turned old overnight. No longer was he thought of as the once great warrior that beat such fighters as Naseem Hamed, Erik Morales and Johnny Tapia.
After the loss to Pacquiao, it appeared as if Barrera was going to call it a career. His pos-fight interview seemed to indicate that he was unsure if he was going to continue to fight. To the surprise of many, he did continue to fight and reclaimed his spot among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.
It wasn't as easy as it sounds.
He came back against Paulie Ayala, stopping him for the first time in his career within ten rounds. An impressive return, but the boxing public was still not fully convinced that Barrera was back in full swing. Ayala was a good fighter, nobody can dispute that fact. But, he was also on the downside of his career and had very little punching power.
Barrera sensed that he would need to do something big in order to prove to the public that he was actually still the same fighter. No better way to make a statement than signing a contract for a trilogy bout with Mexican rival Erik Morales.
At the time, Morales was at the very least considered the third best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. Morales moved up to the super featherweight division and was coming off spectacular performances over Jesus Chavez and Carlos Hernandez, picking up two super featherweight titles in the process. [details]
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