18 year old Marco Antonio Barrera

I watched his fight with Daniel Jiminez last night. He just had the look of a champion, I think he always did, and he was so explosive, people forget just how amazing his hand speed was during his first career. Did you think Marco was done after Jones I? I know HBO turned their back on him, and backed Morales to go on to bigger and better things.

 

It's really weird how I got to be a fan of Marco Antonio Barrera. As a young kid, I was 11/12 at the time, the hype surrounding Hamed vs Barrera was pretty high profile over here in the UK. When my dad would flick the channels, I'd see like advertisements of the big fight. Barrera has the look that can make an impression on anyone for the first time. You look at his stoic expression and it just stays with you. I took a slight interest in the fight for that reason, only. This kid just looked...impressive.

Well, Hamed at the time was pretty big as you know. He was knocking everyone out, and was being picked to go down as one of the all-time greats. I wasn't a Boxing fan, I didn't understand the sport, but with all the hype surrounding Hamed, I did fear for Barrera's safety. I thought it took one shot and Marco would be out, and it was hard for me to envision Marco going the full distance without that happening. You have to realise, this is what I was thinking but I was 12...had never seen a boxing match, and all my opinions were as a result of the media.

I remember asking my dad the morning after who had won the fight. I only found out recently but he had stayed up to watch it and I was elated when I heard Marco pulled it out. I've always had a strange fascination with underdogs so I was happy that someone proved the majority wrong in their effort. It wouldn't be for awhile after that I would ever hear the name Barrera again, and it would come in 2003 whilst I was flicking through the channels at about 10-11pm.

On comes Eurosport and it's a replay. Marco Antonio Barrera vs Manny Pacquiao. I looked at Marco, realising that he was now elevated to world status with what the commentator was saying, expecting a quick and easy win. Manny didn't look impressive, he looked like an amateur. Well, round after round, this amateur would be picking Marco apart and I just felt sorry for him. It was natural for me to support him because the only connection I ever had with Boxing was with his one encounter. Well, I felt like crying after the end of it.

...I went on the Internet, researched him, and I've followed him ever since. Too me, nobody will ever compare. He's the best.