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MAB is the well running dry?
www.boxinginsider.com
BARRERA WINS, BUT IS THE WELL RUNNING DRY?
By Max Thurman
The greatness of Marco Antonio Barrera after 66 fights and multiple titles is beyond question. As evidenced in his hard fought decision over Rocky Juarez, while the great heart and soul remains, his overall ability to remain at the top may be slipping.
At age 32, Barrera is still hard-hitting, smart, and willing to engage. His multi-faceted game keeps him in elite company. What the Juarez fight demonstrated is that a young, hard competitor can come close in a way that just two years ago wouldn’t have happened. At his absolute prime, only fighters with a variety of skills and a willingness to go deep could stand the heat with Barrera.
For his part, Juarez is a very hard puncher, a determined battler and fundamentally sound. What he does not have is a diversified attack and skills that equal the likes of Erik Morales or Manny Pacquiao. Yet, he may have very well outworked Barrera down the stretch winning perhaps all of the last five rounds.
In each of his three encounters with Erik Morales, Barrera was fully engaged and exchanging with great ferocity from the opening bell to the final bell. He now relies on a tremendous jabs to keep opponents at bay while he builds to encounters of his choosing. While on one hand this is a smart and largely effective strategy, it may also be an early indicator of his need to measure his attacks for fear of draining his tank too early.
Juarez was able to hurt Barrera in round three and had his older opponent’s face much more messy than we’re used to seeing it, even in the tough bouts. Again, this is likely a hint that Barrera is getting hit a bit more solidly and more often than in years past. To be sure, Juarez is a world-class fighter and may very well go on to gain a world title.
When great fighters begin their inevitable slide it is often more pronounced than we see in other sports. He can’t revert to becoming a designated hitter as we often see in baseball. He can’t play in just short yardage situations as in football. And, he can’t reduce his playing time in the bout to save himself for the fourth quarter as we might see in the NBA.
Marco Antonio Barrera likely has some big fights left in him. He still represents a major obstacle for any would-be world-beater. Soon, however, he will have to take stock and make decisions about his career. At his age, in his weight class, it is indeed astonishing that he remains so competitive.
Fight fans should enjoy the greatness of Barrera while they still have the chance. It won’t last much longer.
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Originally Posted by miles
At this stage in his career he gives away to much ring time to Pacman. I know he started when he was 17 but he's had considerably less bouts. He's too fresh for MAB.
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