18.03.07 – By Sean Ocampo: After waiting all these years, Juan Manuel Marquez finally seized the perfect opportunity for boxing greatness as he beat Mexican ring icon Marco Antonio Barrera in their twelve round thriller. The man called “Dinamita” showed why he was avoided by great fighters early in his career with this awesome performance.
The fight definitely lived up to expectations as both fighters showed true Mexican pride in the ring. However, it was Marquez who got the better of the two by winning by a seriously tough unanimous decision. Two judges scored the fight 116-111 and one judge scored it 118-109, all in favor of the challenger Marquez. The win earned him his third world title in two divisions..
The fight of the year candidate started with a bang as both fighters trade punches in the middle of the ring with Marquez slightly getting better of the exchanges. Barrera had a slight edge over the challenger Marquez during the course of the second round up to the sixth round with his crisp left jab and effective flurries to steal the rounds to Marquez.
During the seventh round, Marquez caught Barrera with a clean right hand that completely staggered the champion. After smelling blood, Marquez assaulted the stunned Barrera with vicious combinations to head and to the body.
When Marquez appears to be cruising to a great round, the stunned Barrera suddenly caught the assaulting Marquez with a perfect counter right hand that floored Marquez. However, the supposed to be knockdown scored by Barrera was disregarded by referee Jay Nady after Barrera hit Marquez with another crisp right while Marquez was on his knee. The action by Barrera prompted Nady to deduct a point to the champion.
After the ecstatic seventh round, Marquez began to control the fight by beating Barrera to punch. The former Featherweight champion began to unleash tremendous shots that stymied Barrera. His much crisper punches and tremendous uppercuts landed with much better conviction than Barrera’s.
During the final round, both fighter turned on the jets and began to exchange in the middle of the ring. However, it was Marquez who appears to be slightly aggressive than Barrera got the better of the exchanges.
Marquez’s accuracy and effective power punching was the decisive factor in the fight as he demonstrated it to Barrera. Those factors got him the much deserved decision that finally solidified his name as one of the greatest fighters in Mexico.
Both fighters’ faces showed how tough of a fight it was with both of their faces being swollen and bloodied. They both showed what boxing is all about and what it should be.
The defining victory for Marquez will now open gates for big fights particularly a rematch against Manny Pacquiao. However, with legal battle of Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions over Pacquiao this much anticipated rematch may have to wait a while longer.
Marquez may settle to a fight against WBO Champion Joan “Little Tyson” Guzman or WBA Champion Edwin “Inca” Valero, if Valero will be able to pass the medical exam in the United States.
As for the legendary Marco Antonio Barrera, he is perhaps on the twilight of his career but after his performance against Marquez I personally have second thoughts of him being a worn out fighter. He still has a punch that could turn a fight around and he has proven again that he could still bang against one of the hardest punchers in boxing.
Just to sum it all up, it was a tremendous fight with both fighters laying it all out in the ring just for pride and honor. A rematch between the two Mexican warriors is probable after seeing their respective performances.
Simply a great night in boxing… Enough said…