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Four years after stopping Mexican living legend Marco Antonio Barrera in the eleventh round, Filipino star Manny Pacquiao has to once again take on the “Baby Faced Assassin” as the two square off at the Mandalay Bay tonight in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao, 44-3-2 (35), first met Barrera, 63-5 (42), as a featherweight but now the two will meet a weight division higher for the WBC International 130 lb crown.
In the four years since the two first touched gloves, Pacquiao has defeated such top notch Mexican fighters as Erik Morales twice, after losing to “El Terrible” in their initial encounter, Oscar Larios and Jorge Solis while drawing with Juan Manuel Marquez.
Barrera has also been largely successful in that time frame, beating Morales, Paulie Ayala, Rocky Juarez twice and Mzonke Fana, while losing to Marquez in his most recent fight.
This rematch with Pacquiao is largely about Barrera’s quest for revenge but it remains to be seen if the Mexico City native can summon what will have to be a career best performance if he is to overthrow the power punching Filipino southpaw and become the world’s top super feather.
Pacquiao beat Barrera the first time by utilizing his greater speed of hand and foot, nailing Barrera with lead left hands and bracing hooks, producing enough accumulatory damage to finish off his foe in the eleventh, all the while avoiding much of Barrera’s sluggish offense.
Barrera has reportedly studied Pacquiao over the last four years and has undoubtedly discovered the keys to defeating his great rival but will he, at 33 years of age and after and a 18 year career filled with many wars, be able to implement his plans against the will of “Pac Man”?
