MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA

In The Ring
With Marco Antonio Barrera

PHOTOGRAPHY Andrew Takeuchi

Some refer to him as The Baby Face Assassin, others consider him “The Best Featherweight in the World.” Whatever you call Marco Antonio Barrera, one thing is certain: he is one bad-ass fighter. Barrera has risen to the top of the boxing world by taking on all comers and delivering round after round of masterful boxing. He boasts a record of 55-3-0 and has dismantled formidable opponents including Prince Naseem Hamed and Erik Morales.

Next up on his plate is the current IBF Featherweight Champion Johnny Tapia. Barrera may not be looking past his next opponent, but many of his fans are. His first fight against another great Mexican champion, Erik Morales, was dubbed “Fight of the Year” by most boxing experts. That brutal, hard-fought bout produced a decision in favor of Morales which most felt was unjust. (In fact, WBO basically rejected the decision by reinstating Barrera as WBO champion.) Barrera and Morales met again this past June. This time the decision went to Barrera in a fight that, though close, lacked much of the brawling and excitement of their first match up. It seems like only a matter of time before the two meet again in the rubber match. Many of Barrera’s fans would also like to see him step into the ring to pound the obnoxious Prince Naseem Hamed again.

We caught up with Barrera as he prepared for his November 2nd fight with Tapia.

What do you expect from Johnny Tapia in your upcoming fight?
We expect a really hard fight. He’s ranked the number three pound for pound fighter in the world and that brings greater responsibility and expectations. Right now all the fighters want a piece of us and Tapia just won the IBF title, so I think he’s very motivated.

Your first fight with Morales was a slugfest, while the rematch was more of a careful boxing match. What type of fight do you think this one will be?
I think it’s going to be a toe-to-toe fight. Tapia is a very aggressive fighter and we won’t be able to back away from him and still win over the public.

A lot of people admire you for having such a big heart in the ring, for never quitting. As a fighter, do you think it’s more important to have a big heart or be in great physical condition?
I think that a big heart is more important because regardless of whether you possess strength and conditioning, it’s your heart that carries you forward. It’s something that Tapia has demonstrated—he has the courage and heart to throw blows for 12 rounds.

Who do you consider the toughest opponent you’ve been up against?
I would say it was Kennedy McKinney. We fought for 12 intense rounds. I knocked him down five times and he knocked me down once, so I think that has been one of my hardest fights.

Of all the fighters you fought, who would you most like to meet again to utterly destroy?
Well I don’t know about destroy, but I think I’d like to meet Prince Naseem Hamed again. The last time I fought him I used a unique strategy, and I’d like to have another fight with him and give fans a better show.

What about Morales? When do you think there will be another fight?
Who knows, I’m satisfied with my two fights against him, but if the people were to demand another, I’d be delighted to give it to them.

Beyond Morales and Naseem Hamed, who else would you want to fight?
I don’t know. We don’t like to plan. We like to take things step by step, so right now we’re focusing on Tapia.

What do you think is the biggest difference between Mexican fighters and other fighters?
I think we’re warriors and gutsy in the ring. We’ve always demonstrated that the Latino fighter gives the biggest show because of the heart of courage he unleashes in the ring.

What did you think of the Vargas vs. De La Hoya fight?
It was a great fight and I think it lived up to everyone’s expectations. We were there ourselves for all the excitement. I think it’s been the fight of the year, so far.

With Vargas and De La Hoya, as with maybe you and Morales, there was a lot of animosity and personal feelings motivating the fighters. Do you think it’s good to have anger as a motivating factor or is it better to be professional about things and just treat every fight as another “day at the office.”
I think it’s better to keep it professional. It’s better for us to respect ourselves as people and fighters because there are sometimes that we end up looking bad—like in the way we behave and the things we say to each other. We should treat it as what it is, which is a sport, and stay away from that type of behavior.

Yeah, like what happened between you and Morales at the pre-fight press conference. By the way, why did you punch him?
It was a light blow. What happened was he kept bad-mouthing me, calling me a homosexual and a whole bunch of other things. I didn’t even let the press know all the things he was saying. He was in front of me so I told him what I thought about his comments and I gave him a little punch just to let him know that this is a man’s business and there is no need to say all those kind of things publicly.

A lot of people were upset about the decision rendered for your first fight with Morales. There seem to be a lot of fights where the judges appear to be watching a different fight than the one everyone else sees. Why do such horrible decisions happen?
I don’t know why it happens, but nevertheless I’m satisfied with that fight [against Morales] in 2000. I feel good about what I did in the fight, and I proved him wrong since he had predicted that he’d knock me out in three rounds. Despite the fact that they gave him the fight I’m satisfied with my performance.

You may be running out of quality opponents in the featherweight division. Would you consider moving up in weight class?
Right now, at 126 pounds, I don’t have any problems with my weight, I feel good at this weight. For me to go up to 130 pounds would be—not impossible—but certainly difficult.