Pacquiao Bests Barrera in Boxing Match By Doug Fischer (Oct 7, 2007) Photo © German Villasenor Send this page to friend Give us your feedback LAS VEGAS, Oct. 6 – The rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera did not feature the sustained action or unbridled passion of either fighter’s classic trilogy with Erik Morales. It didn’t have the drama of Pacquiao’s draw with Juan Manuel Marquez or the technical brilliance of Barrera’s virtuoso dominance over Naseem Hamed. It certainly was nothing like their first fight, a brutally one-sided 11th-round stoppage suffered by Barrera at the blazing hands of the then-unknown Pacquiao. However, the return bout, a unanimous decision that Pacquiao won by scores of 118-109 (twice) and 115-112, was intense and dramatic enough in spots to thoroughly entertain the near sell-out crowd inside the Mandalay Bay Event Center. “I’m satisfied with the result,” said Pacquiao, now 45-3-2 (3). “It was different from the first fight. Barrera is a good, smart boxer. I knew he would have to box me and that’s how I trained. “It was a good fight.” It was a good fight between two great fighters, two former multi-division champions who have engaged in so many memorable ring battles that their loyal fans were driven into a frenzy during every exchange – heck, the fans cheered wildly after either man landed a single clean punch (even some that were not so clean). When sustained two-way action ensued, as it did in some of the middle rounds and the 11th, the roar from the Filipino and Mexican fans was literally deafening. But this return match was not about blood and guts. It was a mainly tactical battle between two experienced warriors who respected the other’s skill, conditioning and heart. Barrera, who said it would probably be the last fight of his truly hall-of-fame career, said he let his fighting heart get the better of him a few times, such as the 11th, probably the best round in terms of pure action, but one that was interrupted by a blatant hit on the break that cost the Mexico City fighter a point from referee Tony Weeks. “I lost my head in a few rounds,” said a somber Barrera, whose record now stands at a still-impressive 63-6 (42). “I shouldn’t have lost my head and fought the way I did a few times, I should have boxed more. “My corner told me I needed to take it too him and land more punches, but [Pacquiao] had such a good defense that it was hard to do so.” Clearly, this was not the distracted, unfocused and under-trained version of Barrera that Pacquiao faced in their first fight – the 33-year-old veteran was just as hard to hit cleanly as his foe and remained dangerous whenever he was attacked throughout the bout – however, Barrera was not facing the perpetually forward charging whirlwind he fought in 2003. Pacquaio has developed in to a well-rounded power-boxer with much improved ring generalship and added wrinkles to his trademark one-two offense, such as a good right hook, improved balance and footwork and underrated head and upper-body movement. After taking their time in the early rounds, both fighters began to open up offensively in rounds four, five, and six. The pace of the fight was still slow by Pacquiao’s usual frenetic standard; it was a slower tempo that would normally favor the stick-and-move game of Barrera, but the Filipino icon was just as hard to hit cleanly as the Mexican ring master, in fact, he was probably more elusive. Pacquiao landed the harder, cleaner blows during most of the exchanges, and as he pursued Barrera, who often back-pedaled on his toes looking to counter punch, he did so behind an educated right jab and constant head movement. The late rounds belonged to Pacquiao, but not in the way that most had envisioned. The majority of fans and media thought “the PacMan” would eat up Barrera by the championship rounds, but he was content to control the action with sound boxing. In many ways, Pacquiao took a page from Barrera’s book tonight. Barrera, once a fearsome pressure fighter, evolved into more of a boxer in the later stages of his career, which is why he’s lasted so long and given fans so many classic fights. Perhaps Pacquiao, only 28, but some would say a quickly ageing fighter due to his punishing style in the ring and equally fast lifestyle outside of it, will prolong his career by adopting a more measured approach to some of his future showdowns. Hopefully he will. There are many challenges – such as a rematch with Marquez, now the WBC 130-pound champ, WBA junior lightweight belt-holder Edwin Valero (who was ringside to support Barrera), the winner of November’s WBO 130-pound tilt between Joan Guzman and Humberto Soto and 135-pound showdowns with the likes of the Diazes (Juan, Julio and/or David) and Michael Katsidis – that await him. THE UNDERCARD In the co-featured bout of the Top Rank/Golden Boy Promotions card, featherweight titlist Steven Luevano retained his WBO 126-pound belt and improved to 34-1 (15) with a one-sided unanimous decision over game challenger Antonio Davis, who dropped to 24-4 (12). Luevano, who won the title this past July by traveling to London and stopping previously undefeated Nicky Cook, beat Davis by scores of 119-108 (twice) and 118-109. Davis, who was coming off two wins after a failed challenge to WBO 130-pound titlist Joan Guzman in December, gave a gutsy effort, often pressing Luevano to the ropes where he worked the younger man’s body with two-fisted abandon. But Luevano was able to fight effectively off the ropes and when the Southern Californian southpaw moved the fight to the center of the ring he controlled the action with his lateral movement and a shotgun right jab, which punished the veteran and set up hard straight lefts. By the middle rounds Davis’s left eye was nearly swollen shut which further enabled Luevano to do damage from the outside. But Davis remained game to the end, despite suffering a hard knockdown after eating a short left cross at the end of the 11th round. Super middleweight contender Librado Andrade improved to 26-1 (20) with a scintillating see-saw slugfest with Yusaf Mack that began with the winner of the USBA 168-pound title bout getting dropped and ended with the gutsy Philadelphia fighter tasting canvas three times before referee Jay Nady waved it off at 2:34 of the seventh round. In the opening minute of the first round, Andrade was dropped hard by the first power punch delivered by Mack (a big left hook), but he made it to his somewhat unsteady feet and smothered his antagonist for the rest of round, smothering any kind of follow-up attack by forcing Mack, who dropped to 23-2-2 (14), into the ropes. In the second round, Andrade continued to press Mack back into the ropes, where he got off short power shots. Mack, who complained to Nady about rough stuff from Andrade (mainly head butts and low blows), let go with head-twisting hook-cross combinations when the fight momentarily moved to the center of the ring, but the round ended with Andrade pounding away on a covering up but still dangerous Mack along the ropes. Thus the pattern of a terrific ring battle began to unfold. Andrade, who was one win removed from a lop-sided decision loss to WBA/WBC 168-pound champ Mikkel Kessler, did his best work when in close where he could pound away on Mack’s chin, arms and body with short hooks and uppercuts. Mack, whose block-roll-and-counter style was clearly effective against Andrade, landed his best power punches from the outside and mid-range. In the third round, Mack got in a good right cross in that seemed to hurt Andrade, but the Orange County-raised Las Vegas-based slugger stayed in the crafty fringe contender’s chest, drawing a head butt warning from an over-officious Nady that ironically seemed to stem Mack’s momentum. Andrade got in a hook that got a rise from the pro-Mexican crowd and then swarmed a covering-up and shoulder-rolling Mack with more lefts and uppercuts, but Mack got in some hard return fire seconds before the bell. More bombs were exchanged in the first half of fourth round, as Adrade attempted to smothered Mack on the inside along ropes, only to have the Philly warrior storm back with big swinging hook and crosses from the outside. Andrade retaliated by working the body and Mack answered back with some body blows of his own, but was warned for low blow near the round’s end. The fifth round featured more back-and-forth action. Mack landed the heavier shots, mostly counter punches. After another warning from Nady warning (this time to Andrade), Mack got off with a hard salvo from mid-range that knocked Andrade around before the bell. The momentum of the bout, which began with Mack and momentarily switched to Andrade appeared to swing in favor of the Philly fighter. In the sixth round Mack looked like he was set to take over the bout as he got off with both hands from mid-range, landing a big hook that seemed to buzz Andrade. For the first time in the bout, Andrade stopped advancing and even retreated a little bit, giving Mack room to land even more power punches, such as hellacious uppercut that drew gasps from the crowd. But just when it appeared that Andrade was out of gas and ideas, he got in close again at the start of the seventh round, landing a good uppercut and backing Mack to the ropes where he busted his foe with an innocent looking hook. Mack appeared to take a voluntary knee to either clear his head or take a breather. Mack beat Nady’s count but Andrade quickly forced him to take another knee. Did Mack run out of gas, ringside observers wondered? Before the question could be answered or pondered, the fight was over after Andrade’s pressure and follow-up punches forced Mack to a third knockdown and Nady waved the entertaining bout off. In the opening bout of the HBO Pay-Per-View telecast, former 130-pound titlist Steve Forbes pounded out a split decision victory over a come-backing Francisco Bojado in a brisk 10-round junior welterweight contest. Forbes, who improved to 33-5 (9), won by scores of 97-93 (Herb Santos) and 96-94 (Duane Ford). Judge Chuck Giampa scored the bout 96-94 for Bojado, who dropped to 18-3 (12). “I definitely think I won the fight,” said Forbes, who was the recipient of what was widely viewed as controversial decision loss in his last fight against Demetrius Hopkins, who like Bojado is a Golden Boy Promotions fighter, in this same venue this past March. “[Bojado’s] speed surprised me and he was able to evade some of my shots even when he got tired, but I was landing the uppercut all night long and it felt great to land that shot. I was landing it at will.” Forbes, who at 30 is seven years older than Bojado, fought like the younger man by being busier and more consistent for three minutes of each round. By contrast, Bojado, who appeared to land the harder punches, only fought in spurts. He would start every other round like a man on a mission to knock his opponent out, but then settle into a fight-in-bursts mode like an old veteran. Perhaps if he were in better condition, he would have been able to put more consistent pressure on his light-punching foe. Bojado weighed in three pounds over the contracted weight of 142 pounds yesterday, causing many to question how hard he trained for the fight, which was originally scheduled for Sept. 15th. Bojado says an injured hand had more to do with his performance, which he felt was good enough to garner the victory. “I hurt my right hand,” he said. “I can’t remember which round but I know I hurt it. I disagree with the judge’s decision. I think I did enough to win the fight.” Discuss this Topic - Go to the forums For Questions or Comments E-Mail Doug Fischer at dougie@maxboxing.com