A MEXICAN LEGEND IN CEBU
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 01 Mar 2013
CEBU CITY - Marco Antonio Barrera quietly entered the SM Events Center with Team Mexico minutes before the weigh-in started. I was caught by surprise when he held out his hand. I don?t get to shake hands with boxing legends on a daily basis.
Fans and media men swarmed when they realized that who had arrived.
Barrera gave a short press conference before the start of the official weigh-in for PINOY PRIDE XVIII. He thanked ALA Promotions for inviting him and had kind words and praises for the boxing-crazy host city.
Barrera was clean cut and soft spoken, a stark contrast to the ferocity that he showed in his more than two decade pro career. I sneaked past the star struck throng to throw in my question about a fight that happened seventeen years ago. Barrera, who was then undefeated, was making the fifth defense of his WBO super bantamweight title against Kennedy McKinney, a fight that confirmed his greatness.
It was a give and take fight with head snapping power punches and precision counters. McKinney was down twice in the eight and went down on one knee in the ninth. But he summoned enough reserves to drop Barrera in the eleventh. The Baby Faced Assassin surged in the twelfth and final round, finishing a spent McKinney at the 2:05 mark.
This was the fight that renewed my interest in boxing. I spent the early 1990?s buried in medical textbooks. I could not follow the fight game as much as I wanted. My medical license was a little more than a year old Barrera fought McKinney. When I saw the fight on television I realized that I missed a lot. I was a fight fan since I was ten years old. This was the fight that made me a fan again.
Never in my wildest dreams did I envision seven years later, Barrera would be fighting a Filipino boxer. I never thought I would get a chance to talk to him about the McKinney fight.
?I agree with you,? Barrera gave a polite smile, ?That was my greatest fight. The three fights with Erik Morales were hard. But the McKinney fight was my best performance.?
Barrera answered more questions from the sportswriters, including his thoughts about his old rivals, Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao.
"I was surprised that Marquez knocked out Pacquiao,? he said, ?Marquez did not do anything new in training. He used the same punches. I cannot explain it, Maybe he has a very good doctor.?
Barrera gamely posed for photos with fans and local boxers who immediately mobbed him after the brief Q and A.
The sportswriters later had a dinner with Barrera and the team of Moises Fuentes at the Parklane Hotel. A video tribute to the legend, with highlights of his great fights was shown on the large screen.
He answered more questions and gave a brief tribute to Pacquiao and talked about their first encounter. ?It was a tough fight, but I know I lost to the best of the best.?
He continued to answer questions about Marquez and Pacquiao. Barrera said he still gives Pacquiao the edge, having won two fights against Marquez.
Barrera will be the Mexican television commentator at ringside during the WBO light flyweight title fight between Donnie Nietes and Moises Fuentes on March 2. His brother, Jorge Barrera, is Fuentes? cornerman.
?My brother has worked with me in the corner and in the gym,? he said, ?Fuentes is very fast and has a big heart.?
Barrera thanked ALA Promotions and praised the Cebuanos for their hospitality. He also said that he would return to Cebu if he is invited again.
Photos by Dong Secuya.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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