Experts not ruling out Barrera upset

[The Corrupted]

LAS VEGAS – The betting is heavily in favor of Manny Pacquiao over Marco Antonio Barrera as their “Will To Win” fight draws closer to showtime at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino Events Center here tonight (Sunday, Manila).
There are hardly any takers for the Mexican and oddsmakers are busily putting out lines on which round Pacquiao will score a knockout.
But veteran boxing writer Graham Houston, in the London magazine Boxing Monthly (Oct. 2007), wouldn’t dismiss an upset even as Barrera hasn’t looked too formidable in his last four bouts – which by the way, all went the distance.
“It could be that Barrera will be the more focused fighter this time around and what I originally viewed as likely to be another one-sided win for Pacquiao is now shaping up as a much more competitive fight,” said Houston who was swayed by talk of distractions in the Filipino’s training camp.
Houston said Pacquiao is picked to win “but I am thinking that Barrera can put up a much better fight than he did four years ago.”
It is Barrera’s reputation as a proud warrior that could make things a little difficult for Pacquiao.
“A great fighter has one last great fight left in him and maybe Barrera can produce a spectacular performance,” said Houston. “Even though Barrera has been boxing professionally for 18 years, he is not exactly an old fighter at 33.”
Don Stradley, in The Ring Magazine (Nov. 2007), cited the same reason in sizing up Barrera’s chances in pulling the rug from under Pacquiao.
“Other great ones have pulled out miracle performances when they seemed to be done,” said Stradley. “Willie Pep was written off after losing the featherweight championship to Sandy Saddler but came back to win a 15-round decision over Saddler. Tommy Hearns was thought to be done but when he met his former conqueror Sugar Ray Leonard, in a long-awaited return bout, he decked Leonard twice on his way to a controversial draw.
“If Barrera can do something similar and if Pacquiao has a bad night, the maiden voyage of this open marriage involving Top Rank, Golden Boy and Pacquiao may be memorable after all.”
Barrera’s inspiration comes from the Ol’ Mongoose, Archie Moore who was 39 when he beat Joey Maxim for the world lightheavyweight crown in St. Louis in 1952. At that point in Moore’s career, he had lost 20 in 158 bouts. Moore went on to fight until he was 49.
Despite the publicity of Freddie Roach swapping verbal jabs with Barrera, there is much respect for the Mexican by Pacquiao’s trainer. “Barrera’s durable,” said Roach. “He’s a tough guy and you can’t take anybody too lightly in this game. A lot of people are saying that is going to be an easy fight but Manny must be in shape to win. Marco will try to make the fight a slow-paced one and for Manny to win, he must make Marco work every second of the fight. Barrera is going to come fighting because there’s a lot of pride at stake in this fight. He said this is going to be his last so I expect him to be at his best.”
In their first meeting, Barrera recited a litany of excuses after capitulating in the 11th round. He cited a slew of distractions that blunted his mental focus and eventually took a toll on his physical conditioning. There was an ugly dispute with his former promoter. There was talk that boxing officials would ban Barrera from ever fighting again after it was discovered protective implants were put in his brain to replace abnormal blood vessels. There was a forest fire in Big Bear, California, forcing Barrera to evacuate his training camp and relocate.
Barrera never acknowledged that Pacquiao was the superior fighter the night he suffered the only knockout in his 68-fight career. All he begged for was a chance for revenge

[joepal]

Well, I always liked Barrera. Go MARCO!