Round by Round: Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Mzonke Fana.

Round one: Both fighters come out in the orthodox stance. Fana is using his jab and moving around the ring. Barrera, using a fast pace, sticks a one-two combination followed by a left hook to the body and to the head as Fana backs away using his jab, and dances around the ring. Barrera, employing head

movement, comes back with a solid one-two combination that hurts Mzonke. Fana is able to back away, steadies himself, and goes back to sticking the jab out and trying to keep Marco at bay. Barrera, now stalking, walks in with his own jab and sticks another solid right hand. Marco sticks a solid right hand to the body with 1:35 left in the round. Fana continues to shoot the jab, but gets countered with an overhand right by Marco. The one-two combinations are working beautifully for Marco. Mzonke is just jabbing and trying to keep his distance. Barrera counters a jab with a stiff right hand. The round ends.

10-9 Barrera.

Round two: Fana, using a very decent jab, lands to the body and head. Barrera continues to stalk, using a lot of head movement to get inside. Barrera, pawing with the jab, is just looking for chances to land. Marco, now using the jab with some authority, lands a solid one two combination to the face of Mzonke. Barrera lands a hook to the body and a sharp right hand to the head. Barrera lands a solid left to the body and right to the face that stuns Fana, and follows it with a jab and a HUGE right to the chin that puts Fana down to the canvas. The referee doesn’t even bother to count and stop the fight immediately.

Marco Antonio Barrera retains his WBC super featherweight title.

Writer’s Note: This was one of the worst pay-per-view cards in recent memory. The only decent fight was Fernando Montiel’s six-round massacre of Ivan “Choko” Hernandez. In a fight that many felt was going to be a hotly contested affair, Montiel made Hernandez look like an amateur fighter, and knocked him out the in the sixth round to win the WBO super flyweight title.

Sergio Martinez can be reached at srg_mrtnz@yahoo.com