Barrera Marco Antonio - a legend for all time

From time immemorial, the Mexican land was famous for its legendary boxers, whose names have forever gone down in history. At the same time, the distinguishing features of all these fighters were courage, steadfastness and cold-bloodedness. It goes without saying that when you study Mexican boxing, you can not pass by a person like Barrera Marco Antonio, a man who once became a sensation and opened a new era in the square of the ring. It is about this outstanding athlete that this article will be discussed.

The birth of a legend and the first steps in boxing

Barrera Marco Antonio was born on January 17, 1974. His native city is Itztakalko. The amateur career of the Mexican was relatively short-lived: 56 wins and 4 losses. At the same time, he became the champion of Mexico among amateurs five times. Professional debut of the "killer with the face of an infant" (this is the nickname of Barrera) took place in late 1989, when he was only 15 years old. His first opponent at this level was Davis Felix, who eventually was severely knocked out by young talent in the second round.

The first title in the pro

After seventeen fights, which Barrera Marco Antonio spent in the first two years of his professional career, he went to the duel for the title of champion of the country in the first bantamweight. Joséfino Suárez competed with him in that fight. As a result, Barrera won on points, and subsequently defended his title five times. August 1993 also proved successful for our hero: he took over the title of NABF.

The first loss

In 1994, Barrera Marco Antonio took first place in the WBC ranking. This position allowed him to go to the contestant contest with the fighter number 2 Carlos Salazar. The winner of this fight got a full right to fight with the champion. Unfortunately, Marco could not challenge the title, despite his victory over the competitor, because he could not fit into the limit of his weight class.

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 entire line 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-champion IBF McKinney. The outcome of the confrontation was a knockout in the 12th round of the contender. After this fight the Mexican 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 already on points) turned out to be better Junior. This situation only increased the motivation of the Mexican, and he again began the path upward.

Return

Two consecutive defeats forced Barrera to literally destroy his next opponent, Angel Rosario, in the fifth three minutes. After that there were two more wins by knockouts. This arrangement again allowed the energetic Marco Antonio to enter the title fight in a short time.

On the last day of October 1998, Barrera once again tried on the WBO champion belt. For this, he had to be knocked out in the third round by Richie Wenton. Over the next year, the Mexican twice defended his title with a positive result for himself.

Scandalous fight

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 Erik Morales. This fight was unifying between two world championships: the WBC and the WBO. The fight was extremely tense and interesting for the audience. His result was a separate decision of the judges, who announced the winner of Morales, who, incidentally, was down in the last round. Such a result caused a storm of emotions and a flurry of criticism, and the management of the WBO organization in general retained Barrera's belt, because, in turn, felt that it was he who won the fight.

Historical moment

April 7, 2001. Such a long-awaited battle for many boxing fans: Naseem Hamed - Marco Antonio Barrera. It was in this confrontation that the WBO super champion had to decide.

Too arrogant and self-assured "Prince" could not in the course of the fight adjust to the Mexican and impose their tactics and will. The Mexican acted from the defense clearly, quickly and harshly, repeatedly punishing the British for excessive bragging. Ultimately, the victory naturally went to Barrera, who became a real national hero in his homeland.

The best battles of Marco Antonio Barrera, according to many experts, held in a fight with the now-defunct and legendary Filipino Manny Pacquiao. And even though the Mexican both proved to be a loser (once by knockout), his desire to win and win was appreciated by absolutely everyone who saw these fights and followed the fate of the athlete.

The last fight in his professional career, Barrera, was held on February 12, 2011.