From time immemorial, the Mexican land has been famous for legendary boxers, whose names have forever gone down in history. At the same time, the hallmarks of all these fighters were courage, stamina and composure. It goes without saying that when studying Mexican boxing, you cannot pass by such a person as Barrera Marco Antonio - a man who became a sensation in his time and opened a new era in the boxing ring. It is about this outstanding athlete that will be discussed in this article.
The birth of a legend and the first steps in boxing
Barrera Marco Antonio was born January 17, 1974. Its hometown is Itztakalko. The Mexican amateur career was relatively short-lived: 56 wins and 4 losses. At the same time, he 5 times became the champion of Mexico among amateurs. The professional debut of the “killer with the face of a baby” (just such a nickname for Barrera) took place in late 1989, when he was only 15 years old. His first opponent at this level was Davis Felix, who was ultimately hard knocked out by a young talent in the second round.
First Pro Title
After seventeen fights that Barrera Marco Antonio spent in the first two years of his professional career, he entered the duel for the title of champion of the country in the first bantamweight. Josefino Suarez competed with him in that battle. As a result, Barrera won on points, and subsequently defended his title 5 times. August 1993 was also successful for our hero: he took possession of the NABF title.
First loss
In 1994, Barrera Marco Antonio took first place in the WBC ranking. This position allowed him to enter the challenging match with fighter No. 2 Carlos Salazar. The winner of this fight received the full right to fight with the champion. Unfortunately, Marco could not challenge the title, despite his victory over a competitor, because he could not fit into the limit of his weight category.
Championship
March 31, 1995 became a landmark for the Mexican. It was on that day that he defeated Daniel Jimenez and became the WBO Featherweight Champion. Barrera bent his line the whole fight and was able to achieve the desired result with a score of 116: 111, 115: 112 and 117: 110.
In early 1996, Marco Antonio fought with ex-IBF champion McKini. The result of the confrontation was a knockout in the 12th round of the applicant. After this fight, the Mexican successfully defended his belt three times, after which an unexpected misfire occurred ...
Bitterness of defeat
Barrera left the top in a duel against Junior Johnson. The loss occurred in the fifth round, with a knockout after hitting the chin. Five months later, a rematch was organized and held, but this time (though on points already) turned out to be better than the Junior. This situation only strengthened the motivation of the Mexican, and he again began his journey upward.
Return
Two consecutive defeats forced Barrera to literally destroy his next opponent, Angel Rosario, in the fifth three-minute period. After that there were two more victories by knockouts. This alignment again allowed the assertive Marco Antonio to quickly enter the title fight.
On the last day of October 1998, Barrera once again tried on the belt of the WBO champion. To do this, he had to knock out in the third round of Richie Venton. Over the next year, the Mexican twice with a positive result for himself defended his title.
Scandalous battle
Marco Antonio Barrera - the boxer is truly outstanding in all respects, but even in his career there were extremely unfair decisions not in his favor. This situation occurred on February 19, 2000, when in the opposite corner of the ring the Mexican saw Eric Morales. This fight was a unification between two world championships: WBC and WBO. The fight was extremely intense and interesting for the audience. Its result was a separate decision of the judges, which announced the winner of Morales, who, incidentally, was knocked down in the last round. This result caused a storm of emotions and a flurry of criticism, and the leadership of the WBO organization generally retained the belt for Barrera, since, in turn, it was he who won the battle.
Historical moment
April 7, 2001. Such a long-awaited fight for many boxing fans: Nasim Hamed - Marco Antonio Barrera. It was in this confrontation that the WBO super champion had to decide.
Too arrogant and self-confident “Prince” was not able to adjust to the Mexican during the battle and impose his tactics and will. The Mexican acted clearly, quickly and toughly from the defense, punishing the Briton for excessive bragging over and over again. In the end, the victory naturally went to Barrera, who became a true national hero in his homeland.
The best fights of Marco Antonio Barrera, according to many experts, held in a fight with the speaker and now the legendary Filipino Manny Pacquiao. And despite the fact that the Mexican turned out to be a loser both times (once by a knockout), his desire to win and his will was appreciated by absolutely everyone who saw these fights and followed the fate of the athlete.
The last battle in his professional career, Barrera spent February 12, 2011.